Peter Smith’s verdict: Nine-try Leeds Rhinos claim morale-boosting victory over Salford Red Devils

Oates’ prediction seemed unlikely given both sides’ recent form and he was indeed off the mark, but not in the direction many fans would have expected.

Going into the final five minutes of the ‘home’ game at Warrington’s HJ Stadium, Leeds were 44-12 ahead – only for Ash Handley to wreck Oates’ prediction with a full-length touchdown.

Rhyse Martin’s seventh conversion completed Rhinos’ scoring and put the lid on an emphatic return to winning ways after successive heavy defeats.

It was a morale-boosting victory, but not one to get carried away about.

Salford had not played for three weeks and been unable to train for much of that time due to players isolating following the coronavirus outbreak at their previous opponents Hull.

On top of that, they lost Ken Sio with a game-ending knee injury after just five minutes and three more players – Chris Atkin, Josh Johnson and Ryan Lannon – failed to reach the finish line.

Even so, they showed plenty of spirit, narrowed the gap to 14 points – having trailed 26-0 at the break – and caused Rhinos some problems in the second half.

That said, Leeds were much better than in their previous three games following Betfred Super League’s resumption.

After an early scare – when Luke Gale made a try-saving tackle on Sio, who was hurt in the process – they dominated the first 40 minutes, scoring five tries.

And following the wobble in the third quarter, when they conceded two touchdowns to kicks, Leeds finished just as strongly, with Richie Myler and then Ash Handley each completing a fine hat-trick.

Discipline and errors have been two big issues post-Covid, but Rhinos conceded only one penalty – four minutes from time – and two set re-starts and made fewer mistakes.

As coach Richard Agar pointed out afterwards, Rhinos have shown if they get an equal share of the ball they can score points.

Myler’s return from two games on the injury list allowed Handley to move from full-back to the left-wing and Rhinos’ side had much better balance.

Both were excellent. Myler was caught out once positionally, for Salford’s second try and deceived by a bounce leading to their first, but he and Handley were a constant attacking threat.

Leeds’ fourth try came when Matt Prior picked out Handley with a lovely pass and the winger kicked infield for the makeshift full-back to gather and go over. That was Prior’s second assist in successive games and possibly the best of Rhinos’ nine tries, but they scored some very good ones.

Rhinos had three players back from injury and they all got over the whitewash.

A clearly highly-motivated Rob Lui, also having missed two matches, had perhaps his finest game since joining Leeds from Salford.

His break set up a touchdown for Luke Gale, he made a try-saving tackle on Atkin just before Myler’s converted try made it 22-0 and the stand-off scored on the hour mark to end Salford’s fightback.

Kruise Leeming, at hooker, was also influential and when Brad Dwyer and Alex Sutcliffe came off the bench in the second period they provided some energy at a time when Leeds were struggling to regain control.

The pack, having been outplayed by St Helens and Wigan Warriors, went forward and Mikolaj Oledzki’s try, when he burst past Johnson and sprinted 30 metres to the line, was an eye-catcher.

Having had two weeks to prepare, Leeds looked fitter than in their previous games this month and more enthusiastic.

A concern was injuries to Adam Cuthbertson (back) and Harry Newman (hamstring) and several other players, including Myler, picked up knocks, but that is likely to be the case every game for the rest of this season.

Rhinos had already proved if a team are off their game against them they can take the opposition to the cleaners.

Unless and until they do it against one of the leading sides – Saints, Wigan, Catalans and possibly Warrington Wolves who have improved massively since Leeds demolished them in February – question marks will remain over their top-four credentials.

But, with Leeds showing signs of getting to grips with the new rules and faster style of game, this was a step in the right direction, even with several influential players, including Konrad Hurrell because of a hamstring problem and the in-form Cameron Smith to a broken jaw suffered in training, on the casualty list.

Liam Sutcliffe stood in at centre and was very good. Youngster Tom Holroyd also got some valuable game time, making a couple of mistakes but not looking out of his depth.

Handley, Myler, Gale, Myler and Handley scored Leeds’ first-half tries; then Evalds touched down from his own kick and crossed off a kick by Kevin Brown, Tui Lolohea improving both. But Lui forced his way over from acting-half to settle Leeds nerves and Oledzki, Myler and Handley – with a full-length sprint after Liam Sutcliffe had collected Evalds’ kick – completed a satisfying evening for Rhinos who are back in action in three days’ time against Wakefield Trinity at Emerald Headingley.

***

A message from the Editor:

Leeds has a fantastic story to tell - and the Yorkshire Evening Post has been rooted firmly at the heart of telling the stories of our city since 1890.

We believe in ourselves and hope you believe in us too. We need your support to help ensure we can continue to be at the heart of life in Leeds.

Subscribe to our website and enjoy unlimited access to local news and information online and on our app. With a digital subscription, you can read more than 5 articles, see fewer ads, enjoy faster load times, and get access to exclusive newsletters and content. Click here to subscribe. For more details on our newspaper subscription offers click here.

Thank you

Laura Collins

Editor