Bradford Bulls U18s 6 Leeds Rhinos U18s 50

Hat tricks for Will Wilkinson and Zak Lloyd led the way as Leeds Rhinos Under-18s secured a dominant 50-6 win over Bradford Bulls Under-18s at Bartercard Odsal.

The unbeaten Rhinos came into the game with the upper hand, having thrashed the Bulls 80-0 at Stanningley earlier in the season, and they wasted no time in getting the scoreboard moving again. Zak Lloyd opened the scoring just five minutes in, powering over on the right edge after Leeds shifted the ball wide. 

Bradford mounted some resistance as the half wore on, but Leeds remained firmly in control. Relentless pressure near the Bulls' line saw Dacx Jones-Buchanan, Dan Stelfox, and Oscar Brown all held up short, while Bradford were frequently forced to bring the ball away from deep inside their own 10-metre area as the pressure began to mount on the home side.

As the game approached the half-hour mark, cracks began to show in the Bulls' defence and Leeds capitalised with Lloyd’s second try - the forward pouncing on Wade White’s well-placed grubber into the in-goal area. Moments later, substitute Hughie Tinkler followed Lloyd’s example, forcing his way over for his first try at Under-18s level.

The visitors were now in full control, and debutant Will Wilkinson added to the tally with a try in the corner. But it was Lloyd who stole the show before half-time. After Jones-Buchanan broke through untouched and drew the fullback, he unselfishly passed to Lloyd in support, allowing the back-rower to complete a first-half hat trick and give Leeds a 28-0 lead at the break.

Leeds added four more tries after the interval, though it was Bradford who struck first in the second half. James Gleeson capitalised on a mix-up from the visitors on the last tackle to score a consolation try under the posts.

Wilkinson reignited Leeds’ attack in spectacular fashion, collecting a high kick from Wright deep in his own half and returning it all the way to the opposite end for a stunning individual try. He soon completed his hat trick, diving over in the corner after Leeds caught the Bulls short on numbers.

Oscar Brown then broke through the line to set up Noah Whittingham, who crashed over as the Rhinos continued to dominate. Brown, who had scored five tries in the reverse fixture, wasn’t to be denied either. After Jacob Hardy’s big hit forced a knock-on from Rueben Mafi, Brown sliced through the resulting scrum play to score Leeds’ ninth and final try.

Lloyd converted his seventh goal of the night to seal the 50-point total and maintain the Rhinos' place at the top of the Academy Championship.

Teams:

Bulls U18s

1. William Eyre, 2. Harrison Goldthorpe, 4. Rueben Mafi, 3. James Gleeson, 5. Zak Bielecki, 6. Freddie Hunkin, 7. Archie Wright, 8. Cameron Bate, 9. Henry Welsh, 24. Riley Thompson, 11. Jayden Wright, 12. Sean Twomey, 13. Jake Baker

Subs: 14. Milo Bostock, 15. Dylan Garbett, 18. Harrison Lazenby, 17. James Rowney

Tries: Gleeson (45)

Goals: Wright 1/1

Rhinos U18s

1. Wade White, 2. Will Wilkinson, 3. Jacob Hardy, 4. Oscar Brown, 5. Tom Richardson, 6. Dylan Hutchinson, 7. Harry Smith, 8. Lore Jones-Buchanan, 9. Alex Cowley, 10. Dan Stelfox, 11. Zak Lloyd, 12. Noah Whittingham, 13. Dacx Jones-Buchanan

Subs: 14. Harvey Butterworth, 15. Hughie Tinkler, 16. Jacob Stead, 17. Dax Millington (18^th Man: Elliott Fox)

Tries: Lloyd (5, 28, 38), Tinkler (32), Wilkinson (35, 54, 67), Whittingham (73), Brown (79)

Goals: Lloyd 7/9