Having jumped past the Leeds Rhinos and into third spot last
weekend, Leigh Leopards round sixteen quest was to defeat the Rhinos themselves
and maintain their top three spot and the chase of the Wigan Warriors and
ultimately the league leaders, Hull KR.

Despite being below them in the league table it was the home
side, the Rhinos, who were the bookies favourites, handicapped by eight points
on the coupon as the two sides met for the first time in the 2025 competition.

A win for Leigh would see them to within a point of the
Warriors before their round sixteen game against Castleford tomorrow, a win for
the Rhino would lift them above Leigh and within two of the Warriors.

Leeds took an early lead on four minutes after a tremendous
start from the home side, Kallum Watkins chasing a Jake Connor grubber to goal
and diving on the bouncing ball to ground. Connor hit the target with the conversion
for a 6-0 start, the south stand ecstatic.

On ten the Leopards struck back with their own opener, Isaac
Liu pushing off the tackle of Lachie Miller to spin free and reach for the
line. Gareth O’Brien added the conversion, and the sides were tied up.

Leeds were back on front on fifteen when a poor pass from
Edwin Ipape to Lachlan Lam when to ground and was picked up by Harry Newman who
broke and took a tackle before finding Miller to sprint seventy metres and run
home to score next to the right post. Connor hit the mark again, the Rhinos
lead back to six points.

Leigh were hitting back in the tit-for-tat scoring with
Keenan Brand going in on twenty-two as he took a brilliant Umyla Hanley touch
pass from left to right to go over in the right corner. O’Brien was unable to
add the conversion this time.

Good Leeds pressure, and an error in the Leigh defence for a
set restart, saw Cameron Smith stretch to take a pass and charge over from ten
metres out for the third Leeds try of the night. Connor was on target for the
third time for 18-10.

Thirty seconds before the interval the Rhinos went further
ahead, a moment of Brodie Croft genius evading three tackles before throwing a
looping pass to Harry Newman to go over in the corner. Connor converted in off
the far post for a 24-10 half time lead.

Leigh were first on the board in the second half, O’Brien on
hand to finish but all the work was done by Haney who jumped to catch a chip
kick and pass inside to the supporting scrum half to walk in and score. O’Brien
couldn’t convert, the deficit down to ten points.

A last tackle play from the Rhinos saw them further extend
their lead, a Miller chip was tapped back by Ryan Hall into the hand of Newman
to cross from five metres out. Connor added a fifth try from five attempts for
a 30-14 lead.

A sensational Watkins try on fifty-three, busting the line
off a short pass from Conner and then throwing an outrageous dummy to go
through the gap and dive in from thirty metres. Connor added his sixth goal of
the game for 36-14, Leigh now with a mountain to climb.

Just after the hour mark a stunning cut-out pass from O’Brien
found Brand to cross for his second of the game, rounding close to the posts to
give the try maker a simple conversion for 36-20.

With fifteen of the game minutes remaining the Rhinos put
the result beyond doubt, Tom Holroyd running back into the ruck from first
receiver and pushing off the defender to drop over the line. Connor added the
conversion, the Rhinos back into a twenty-two-point lead.

Keenan Brand completed his hat-trick with a leap for the
corner as Leigh exploited an overlap down the right-hand side. O’Brien was wide
with his conversion attempt, Leeds with an eighteen-point lead.

On seventy-two the forwards were getting in on the act,
Mikolaj Oledzki the man on hand to take a Connor offload after he had jumped to
catch a Brodie Croft kick towards the posts. Connor made it eight from eight,
Leeds two short of the fifty.

Leigh weren’t done for the scoreboard, even though the game
was now out of reach. On seventy-five Hanley was on hand to take the final pass
and scoring by the posts he gave O’Brien a simple kick for 30-48 at full time.

This was a massive performance from the Rhinos to take the
points and move back into third place in the table, but neither coach will be
happy with the performances from his defence in a game which served fourteen
tries in an end-to-end encounter. There is no denying the entertainment that
the two sides served up, keeping the Rhinos fans and many neutrals enthralled
for the full eighty minutes.

Leeds Rhinos: Miller (T), Hall, Newman (2T), Handley, Edgell,
Connor (G 8/, Croft, Jenkins, O’Connor, Oledzki (T), McDonnell, Watkins (2T),
Palasia. Subs: Holroyd (T), Lisone, Sinfield, Smith (T). 18^th Man: Cassell.

Leigh Leopards: Armstrong, McIntosh, Niu, Hanley (T), Brand
(3T), O’Brien (T, G 3/6), Lam, Ofahengaue, Ipape, Mulhern, Trout, Halton, Liu
(T).  Subs: Hughes, O’Neill, Davis,
McNamara. 18^th Man:  Hodgson.

Half-Time: 24-10.

Full-Time: 48-30.

Score Progression: 4-0, 6-0, 6-4, 6-6, 10-6, 12-6,12-10, 16-10,
18-10, 22-10, 24-10 : HT: 24-14, 28-14, 30-14, 34-14, 36-14, 36-18, 36-20, 40-20,
42-20, 42-24, 46-24, 48-24, 48-28, 48-30 :FT.

Lead Exchanges: Leeds – Square – Leeds.

Referee: Liam Moore.