Leeds Rhinos 12 Salford Red Devils 22

A tough night at Headingley Stadium saw Leeds Rhinos lose out to Salford Red Devils 22-12 in their first game back after the international break.

Having fallen twelve points behind early on, Richie Myler’s try on the half time hooter gave the Rhinos hope, but James Bentley was only able to extend the home side’s lead by six points in the second half

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For the visit of the Red Devils, Smith was able to bring forwards James Bentley, Sam Walters and particularly Morgan Gannon, who had fully recovered from a concussion, into his squad. Injury to Aidan Sezer against Leigh last time out also opened the opportunity for Jack Sinfield to get his first minutes of the 2023 season. The half back debuted for the club in 2022 and got the chance to play alongside Blake Austin.

An early error from the home side almost saw Salford open the scoring, but Brodie Croft’s dab kick for the corner didn’t sit up in time for Rhys Williams, who would have had a walk in. Leeds looked to counter immediately with numbers out wide, but Ash Handley’s flick pass for Rhyse Martin was called forward by the referee by a fraction. Off the back of an offside penalty, exploited by James McDonnell, the Rhinos came within striking range through Sam Lisone, but the play amounted to nothing.

As the half continued, possession swung between both sides until Williams opened the scoring. Blake Austin was sent to the sin bin for a professional foul as the half-back intervened with Watkins connecting with Sneyd’s grubber kick for the in goal area. With the extra man, the Red Devils stretched the Rhinos on both sides of the field which allowed Williams to take Brierley’s pass well to score the opener.

Sensing an opportunity to extend their lead, Salford went back on the offensive, with Sneyd pinning Leeds back in their own half and forcing repeat sets with kicks in behind. Earning a new set of six off the back of a dangerous tackle from McDonnell on Tyler Dupree, the away side played quickly at the line and forced their way over through Sam Stone to make the score 12-0.

Just like in-home matches this season, Leeds dominated the remainder of the half in possession and chances. Edge back rowers Martin and Bentley both came up just short of the try line in positive moves before Richie Myler finally got the Leeds crowd on their feet. Despite throwing the ball into touch to end a promising chance minutes before, Harry Newman was the catalyst to bust a hole in Salford’s defence and offload for Walters. The substitute kept the ball moving for Bentley, who delivered the final pass to put Myler in under the posts to finish a spectacular team try on the half time whistle. Martin’s conversion made the score 12-6 heading into the break.

The second half started with a flurry of chances for both sides. McDonnell and Austin both squandered opportunities for Leeds to build pressure on Salford’s line, while down at the other end of the field, Croft and Watkins tried to combine but the kick from the reigning Man of Steel was too heavy.

The Red Devils calmed the atmosphere when they chose to kick a penalty goal, following Austin’s drop out going out on the full, to make the score an eight-point deficit. Their advantage grew minutes later when the visitors used an offside penalty to get downfield, before Croft stabbed a kick ahead for Ellis Longstaff to plant down. Sneyd’s conversion made the score 20-6 with 22 minutes remaining.

A promising spell of possession saw the Rhinos try to get a foothold back in the contest, but a late shot on Andy Ackers saw Salford keep the scoreboard ticking over as Sneyd added his second penalty goal of the game.

Knowing the clock was against them, a short restart was taken by Leeds who quickly went on the attack. A teasing kick by Sinfield across the field on the last tackle wasn’t taken by Williams on the wing, and James Bentley was there to pick up the scraps for his second try in successive games. A ten point difference called Leeds into action as they tried to keep the ball alive. Their best chance came when Austin found Handley with a cross field kick, but as the home side closed in on the try line, a knock on by Mikolaj Oledzki ended any chance of a Leeds fightback.

The Rhinos travel to face Wigan Warriors at the DW Stadium next Friday in a repeat of last year’s Super League semi final, before returning to face the cherry and whites at Headingley in the sixth round of the Betfred Challenge Cup.