Leeds Rhinos Reserves 68 Salford Red Devils Reserves 12

Twelve tries saw Leeds Rhinos Reserves take a huge 68-12 win away from AMT Headingley Stadium as Oscar Brown and Dylan Proud led the scoring for Chev Walker's side against Salford Red Devils Reserves.

With only three games left to confirm their place in the Reserves Grand Final, the young Rhinos were hitting form at the right time of the season, having seen off challengers Warrington Wolves and Wigan Warriors in two of their last four games. Chev Walker’s side also came into the Red Devils clash buoyed by a win over Hull KR last time out, and got off to the perfect start when Oscar Brown crossed for a try in the opening minutes of the contest.

After gifting Salford an early opportunity to test the Rhinos' defence when Ben Littlewood’s quick pass was batted into the arms of Sean Murray, the home side came to life on their first real attack of the game. A shift to the right edge saw Brown power through a gap to race away and score the opening points.

The Rhinos should have been two tries up inside ten minutes when a promising move saw Zak Lloyd take a crash ball close to the line, but the referee judged that the loose forward had lost possession on the way to the ground. He didn’t have to wait long to get his try though, as the Rhinos’ speed initially proved too much for Salford to handle and Lloyd connected with Harry Smith’s chip kick to score under the posts.

Smith turned from try assister to try scorer as he combined with Littlewood, who did well to hold off Salford defenders long enough to get an offload away, allowing his half-back partner to dance through and score the Rhinos' third try, making it 18-0.

Lucas Coen got a score back for the visitors after Shane Tuohey was beaten in the air by Rhyley Hyde’s high bomb, but Leeds quickly re-established their lead thanks to Smith’s second of the game. The half-back capitalised on a mistake by the Red Devils from the restart as he showed great footwork to step through and touch down.

Lloyd added his second try after a high shot by Rafael Osselaer-Hewitt on his opposite number Tuohey gave the Rhinos strong field position, from which they again came away with points. Dylan Proud also added his name to the scoresheet, claiming a towering kick from Smith to make it 36-6 heading into the final stages of the half.

Diskin capped off the half in style. On the last tackle, the hooker threw a dummy that fooled the Salford defence, allowing him to sprint through and take the Rhinos into the break as 42-6 leaders.

A double movement by Oscar Brown kicked off the second half for the Rhinos as they look to pick up where they left off from the first 40 minutes, before a move wide to Riley Lumb was pulled back for a forward pass by Qareqare. Ten minutes into the new half though Leeds finally found their breakthrough score as a knock on by Dan Jenkinson was pounced on by Proud who fed Oscar Brown over to score his second of the game.

Charlie McCurrie responded for the Red Devils after a mistake at the back from Leeds allowed the second rower to power over for a consolation score, but as they did in the first half, Leeds found their scoring rhythm again. A knock on from Joe Bullock pinned the Red Devils deep in their own half and an energised Leeds side did well to shift the ball to edge, where Oscar Brown was waiting to get over for his hat trick score.

Proud grabbed his second try of the game as the winger produced another fine finish in the corner thanks to a well-timed pass from his centre partner Brown. Heading into the closing stages of the contest, Lore Jones-Buchanan was in the right place at the right time to take an offload from Lloyd and progress through to find the try line, before Proud’s hat trick try completed a convincing 68-12 triumph for the Rhinos.

Teams

Rhinos Reserves

1. Shane Tuohey, 2. Dylan Proud, 4. Oscar Brown, 3. Marcus Qareqare, 5. Riley Lumb, 6. George Brown, 7. Harry Smith, 8. Joe Butterfield, 9. Joe Diskin, 10. Jacob Stead, 11. Oliver Smart, 12. Ben Littlewood, 13. Zak Lloyd

Subs: 14. Elliott Fox, 15. Lore Jones-Buchanan, 16. Daniel Stelfox, 17. Noah Whittingham (18^th Man – Wade White)

Tries: O.Brown (3, 50, 60), Lloyd (14, 29), Smith (17, 24), Proud (32, 65, 79), Diskin (37), Jones-Buchanan (77)

Goals: Lloyd 8/8, G.Brown 1/3, Lumb 1/1

Red Devils

21. Rafael Osselaer-Hewitt, 2. Sam Hill, 3. Dylon Braddish, 4. Ellis Clarke, 31. Dan Jenkinson , 6. Rhyley Hyde, 7. Sean Murray, 10. Joe Bullock, 9. Finley Yates, 8. Brett Bailey, 11. Lucas Coan, 12. Charlie McCurrie, 16. Jamie Shields

Subs: 24. Logan Lagar, 18. James Pye, 26. Noah Lawton, 19. Ben Holland (18^th Man – 28. Jacob Walker)

Tries: Coen (21), McCurrie (54)

Goals: Hyde 2/2