ST HELENS 6 LEEDS RHINOS 34
KASEY SMITH, BrewDog Stadium, Friday

LEEDS edged closer to clinching the League Leaders’ Shield with a big win over a desperate St Helens side.

The Rhinos now host second-placed Wigan and victory will all but seal the trophy, which would be their first since 2015.

For Saints, meanwhile, the defeat leaves their play-off hopes almost over.

Brad Arthur and his men knew the importance of the occasion and they took an early lead, weathered some pressure then struck twice just before half-time to seize control and underline the gulf between the two sides at present.

With so much riding on the result, the contest carried all the intensity of a knockout game. Saints knew there was little room for error and needed to start sharply, but instead they conceded two six-agains and a penalty, allowing Leeds to open the scoring inside seven minutes.

Chris Hankinson strolled over following clever work from Connor, who drew Nene Macdonald with a feigned pass to create the gap.

Saints responded with the urgency the occasion demanded, targeting the Leeds right edge. Deon Cross went over after Tristan Sailor’s looping pass, only for the try to be ruled out after the assist was judged forward.

Even when David Suluka-Fifita was sin-binned and Saints were temporarily reduced to twelve men, they remained competitive, forcing a number of uncharacteristic errors from the Rhinos as they battled to stay in the contest.

But that was as good as it got for them in the first 40 minutes. A devastating spell from Leeds followed, and it was Cameron Smith making an impact off the bench.

He produced dazzling footwork to tear through Saints’ defence, leaving Suluka-Fifita rooted to the spot before slipping past Sailor, fending off Jake Davies and evading Joe Shorrocks to dive over.

Another score swiftly followed. Macdonald flew off the line but couldn’t hold onto Brodie Croft’s pass, allowing Connor to take charge before Harry Newman finished the move, leaving Saints with a mountain to climb.

Even Chris Joynt, the man who coined the famous ‘Never Write Off the Saints’ tagline, might have been struggling to keep the faith now.

There was no explosive response from Saints after the break, either. Leeds’ kick-off was left by Cross, handing possession straight back to the Rhinos. It almost resulted in a try, but Saints’ embarrassment was spared when Tom Holroyd spilled it in-goal.

The fumble mattered not – Ryan Hall grabbed a try, moments later, to move one behind Neil Fox in the all-time try-scoring charts, with that his 357th career score.

Welsby restored some pride when he broke through from his own half, but Ash Handley cancelled it out in the next phase to extinguish any lingering hopes of a comeback.

Croft was next, and last, to cross, his 28th of the league season – one shy of sidelined teammate Maika Sivo – adding insult to injury.

Leeds now march on to Wigan, while Saints – and their incoming head coach Kevin Walters – ponder where they go from here.

GAMESTAR: Jake Connor was unplayable and responsible for a number of Rhinos scores.

GAMEBREAKER: Leeds’ kick-off being allowed to bounce all the way out at the start of the second half summed up just how far Saints were from producing the heroics they needed.

HIGHLIGHT REEL: Jake Connor springing into life and staying switched on to set his side off to score, after Nene Macdonald almost nailed an intercept, was top class.

ALBERT GOLDTHORPE POINTS
3 pts Jake Connor (Leeds)
2 pts Chris Hankinson (Leeds)
1 pt Cameron Smith (Leeds)

MATCHFACTS

SAINTS
6 Tristan Sailor
26 Jacob Douglas
25 Nene Macdonald
1 Jack Welsby
5 Deon Cross
3 Harry Robertson
7 Jonny Lomax
35 Daniel Suluka-Fifita
22 Joe Shorrocks
13 David Klemmer
12 Shane Wright
28 Jake Davies
14 Jacob Host
Subs (all used)
8 Alex Walmsley
30 Tom Humphreys
37 Billy Keeley
38 Matty Evans
18th man (not used)
4 Mark Percival
Also in 21-man squad
34 Cole Marsh
39 Chris Matagi
41 Jack Campbell

Tries: Welsby (52)
Goals: Sailor 1/1
Sin bin: Suluka-Fifita (15) – tackle off the ball

RHINOS
1 Lachlan Miller
5 Ryan Hall
33 Jack Bird
4 Ash Handley
3 Harry Newman
6 Brodie Croft
7 Jake Connor
8 Mikolaj Oledzki
9 Jarrod O’Connor
15 Cooper Jenkins
11 Kallum Watkins
14 Chris Hankinson
20 Presley Cassell
Subs (all used)
10 Tom Holroyd
17 Cameron Smith
23 Danny Levi
31 Matt Lodge
18th man (not used)
30 Zak Lloyd
Also in 21-man squad
22 Riley Lumb
26 Tom Nicholson-Watton
28 Fergus McCormack

Tries: Hankinson (7), Smith (32), Newman (37), Hall (47), Handley (55), Croft (63)
Goals: Connor 5/7

SCORING SEQUENCE: 0-6, 0-12, 0-18; 0-24, 6-24, 6-28, 6-34

Rugby Leaguer & League Express Men of the Match
Saints: Jack Welsby; Rhinos: Jake Connor

Penalty count: 8-4
Half-time: 0-18
Referee: Marcus Griffiths
Attendance: 11,558