Leeds Rhinos: Talking points from pre-season win at Bradford Bulls

Rhinos trailed 12-0 at half-time, but were in front 14 minutes into the second period and comfortably maintained their 100 per cent pre-season record. Here are five talking points from the game.

1: A mixed bag. The first half wasn’t good from Rhinos, who made a series of errors and didn’t adapt to the narrow pitch and heavy conditions. As Agar said afterwards, the way they readjusted at half-time and went on to dominate the second half was impressive and 30 unanswered points in 40 minutes is a good effort in any circumstances.

2: Max power. Centre Max Simpson is only 17 and was promoted into the first team squad two months ago following Corey Hall’s move to Wakefield. He did well in the second half of the previous week’s game at Featherstone and really impressed against Bulls, bagging two well-taken tries. He is big, athletic and quick and definitely one to keep an eye on.

3: Like father... Another 17-year-old, Jack Sinfield, has had some good game time in pre-season. He played the full match at Odsal and showed some nice touches. Also, he hasn’t missed a shot at goal in pre-season, landing six from six. He has a long way to go, but it has been a promising start.

4: Welcome return. It was good to see Jack Walker and Liam Sutcliffe back on the field after long layoffs. Sutcliffe, playing at stand-off, was heavily involved during his spell and full-back Walker looked sharp, despite 14 months out. Their comeback adds more depth to what appears a strong squad.

5: No such thing as friendly rugby league. Muizz Mustapha was the second Leeds player sin-binned - for fighting, along with Bulls’ Matty Dawson-Jones - in three pre-season games, marring an otherwise strong effort. Ironic, as he is now set to join Bradford on loan. The two others offered to Bulls, Jarrod O’Connor and Corey Johnson, were Leeds’ best on the day.

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