Leeds Rhinos 54 Huddersfield Giants 0

On a special night at Headingley, Leeds Rhinos ran riot to score nine tries against Huddersfield Giants in a 54-0 result.

The result matched what was a special matchday as the club brought awareness to MND in support of club legend Rob Burrow and his family, Lindsey, Macy, Maya and Jackson. The family, along with other members of the MND community, were front and centre of the pre-match and half time schedule, before watching the Rhinos dominate the Giants, thanks to two tries each from David Fusitu’a, Rhyse Martin and Sam Walters.

Rohan Smith welcomed back Aidan Sezer and David Fusitu’a into the starting lineup, plus Sam Lisone was also available again off the bench. The Rhinos’ forward pack remained largely unchanged, with Rhyse Martin continuing at centre to allow James Bentley and James McDonnell to play in the second row. Leon Ruan was the only absentee from the defeat to Wakefield as Lisone’s inclusion saw the prop lineup among fellow subs Corey Johnson, James Donaldson and Justin Sangare.

An impressive first half display saw the Rhinos establish a 22-0 lead with tries from Sam Walters, Richie Myler, David Fusitu’a and Ash Handley.

The Giants didn’t look settled in the opening minutes as they threw the ball around sporadically. On top of that, Leeds’ kicking game through Aidan Sezer and man of the match Blake Austin was on point as the Giants were caught in-goal multiple times throughout the opening 40 minutes. Sensing the pressure that they were building, a try from Sam Walters got the Headingley crowd rocking as the prop was put over by Cam Smith.

The lead extended before the game hit the 20 minute mark. Chris Hill had been held up short of the line in Huddersfield’s attempt to get back into the game, but a poor kick on the last saw Handley bring it away comfortably for Leeds. Quickly shifting downfield, Austin showed great balance and agility to break through five attempted tackles before finding Myler in support for a brilliant try. Martin was comfortable with the boot to make the score 12-0 after 17 minutes.

The home side wasted little time in adding try number three as the Giants couldn’t keep hold of possession. Austin was pulling the strings again as he danced through a hole in the Huddersfield defence and then found Handley on his outside for another simple finish.

James McDonnell was denied try four of the game when the video referee denied his effort for a knock on in the build up. Handley should also have got a second try too but the final pass from Martin was judged to be forward by referee Ben Thaler.

The Giants looked shellshocked as Leeds’ energy levels never seemed to drop. Sam Lisone and Justin Sangare were busy off the bench, but the away side’s discipline continued to hinder their progress. Chris McQueen knocked on Sam Lisone’s intended pass for Jarrod O’Connor, setting up a Leeds scrum 20 metres out from the try line and in one swift move, Sezer and Myler connected to sweep the ball out for David Fusitu’a to score on his return to the side.

With time running out, Austin tried to add insult to injury with a drop goal but the half back was not left to rue the missed opportunity when Leeds started the second half. Following the restart, early pressure from the Giants soon dissipated as Sezer caught Huddersfield out with a good run that had Myler in support. The full back was being chased down by defenders but still he managed to sneak the ball out for McDonnell to get his try.

Having slotted the conversion from McDonnell’s try, Martin’s boot was called into action again as the Rhinos were awarded a penalty and the PNG international slotted the goal to take the score to 30-0.

Fusitu’a missed an opportunity for a second try of the evening as he was held up by Jake Bibby over the line, but the Giants’ evening quickly got worse. Pryce had his pass picked off by Handley, who started a foot-race for the try line, only to be tackled by Senior. The Huddersfield winger tried his best to give his team mates a chance to get back but he found himself in the sin bin for holding down the Leeds man. It wasn’t long before the home side made their opponents pay. A searching run out of dummy half from the newly-introduced Corey Johnson saw the hooker offload back for Walters, and nobody was stopping the forward getting his second of the game.

The floodgates were beginning to open for Leeds as the double act of Austin and Myler produced points again; this time Martin was on the end of Myler’s kick out wide to touch down. Off the back of a late hit on Myler by Hill, Huddersfield’s defence broke again when Fusitu’a rose up to take Myler’s kick above Senior and score his second. Martin’s conversions took the score to 48-0 with under ten minutes remaining.

Watched on by Burrow, who smiled as Headingley chanted his name back to him, the Rhinos crowned their evening with a special try. Myler’s kick over the top looked to be covered by McGillvary, but Handley managed to get to the ball first and outrageously flick it behind his back for Martin to stroll in and take Leeds well over the 50 point margin with his conversion.