LEEDS RHINOS 72 LEIGH LEOPARDS 0
STEPHEN IBBETSON, AMT Headingley, Saturday
LEEDS picked up a fifth straight league win to all but secure second place heading into the top-four split.
Fourteen tries were put past underwhelming Leigh, who suffered their biggest defeat of the season.
The only Rhinos negative was an apparent ankle injury to fullback Ebony Stead early in the second half, after being among the first-half try-scorers.
It was 44-0 at half-time thanks to eight Leeds tries, the first just three minutes in from Liv Whitehead after a tone-setting Leopards error.
Amelia Hirst followed in with the first of her two first-half tries, in only her second senior appearance.
Before Hirst’s second on the stroke of half-time, there were also touchdowns by Keara Bennett, Mel Howard (twice, in addition to eight successful goals across the match), Stead, and Ruby Bruce.
After earning some brief respite when the second half began, Leigh were behind their sticks six times in 17 minutes starting when Grace Short powered over.
Ruby Walker scored twice including perhaps the pick of the bunch with a break from 40 metres out.
Whitehead grabbed her second, Connie Boyd joined the scoring list and Walker set up Frankie Blakey as Leeds ran riot.
RHINOS: 2 Ebony Stead, 25 Amelia Hirst, 15 Connie Boyd, 5 Liv Whitehead, 18 Tally Bryer, 6 Mel Howard, 7 Ruby Walker, 13 Shannon Brown, 9 Keara Bennett, 10 Kaiya Glynn, 17 Grace Short, 12 Lacey Owen, 8 Ella Donnelly. Subs (all used): 14 Ruby Bruce, 20 Jess Sharp, 21 Frankie Blakey, 26 Georgia Elliston
Tries: Whitehead (3, 60), Hirst (6, 37), Bennett (15), Howard (21, 26), Stead (29), Bruce (33), Short (54), Walker (56, 71), Boyd (63), Blakey (67); Goals: Howard 8/14
LEOPARDS: 1 Hattie Dogus, 2 Toryn Blackwood, 3 Nicole Barnett, 20 Becky Webb, 17 Macy McDermott, 6 Rhianna Burke, 13 Storm Cobain, 8 Eleanor Dainty, 14 Abi Gordon, 16 Lucy Johnson, 11 Emily Beggaley, 12 Charlotte Melvin, 19 Libby Wall. Subs (all used): 10 Mairead Quinn, 21 Olivia Hill, 23 Albany-D Coates, 25 Freya Turner
SCORING SEQUENCE: 4-0, 8-0, 14-0, 20-0, 24-0, 30-0, 36-0, 42-0; 46-0, 52-0, 56-0, 62-0, 68-0, 72-0
Half-time: 42-0; Referee: Matty Clayton