Leeds Rhinos moved temporarily level on points with second placed Wigan Warriors in the Betfred Super League table as they defeated Huddersfield Giants 26-0 at the ACCU Stadium.

A Harry Newman try and two penalty goals from Jake Connor was all the side had to show for 58 minutes before Morgan Gannon, Brodie Croft and Mikolaj Oledzki confirmed the result on a night where Huddersfield defended valiantly.

Injury to Max Simpson and a two-match ban for Joe Shorrocks after the win over Hull FC forced head coach Arthur into two changes for the Giants clash. Centre Ned McCormack came in to replace Simpson, as he played his first Super League minutes since July 2024 after missing most of the season through injury. Andy Ackers also returned to the starting hooker role after missing the Hull win, as Jarrod O’Connor was moved onto the bench alongside Presley Cassell who swapped places with Cooper Jenkins.

As one of the in-form teams coming into Rivals Round with four consecutive wins, the Rhinos made sure they were fast starters in this contest and could have posted points inside the first sets. Lachie Miller had the Giants defence on high alert as he broke through the heart of the home side to send McCormack away, but as the ball progressed out to Chris Hankinson, his kick in behind was cleanly taken by Jake Bibby to diffuse the threat. The visitors continued to put pressure on the home side and got their reward on ten minutes with Harry Newman. Forcing themselves closer to the try line with good drives from Kallum Watkins and Cooper Jenkins, Brodie Croft noticed the Giants full back was out of position and he stabbed a kick for the in-goal area, which was touched down by Newman for his 10^th try of the Super League season.

With the first try of the game under their belts, Leeds built in confidence with and without ball in their possession. Brodie Croft showed a great sleight of hand to feed James McDonnell into the backfield, but a poor choice saw the back rower kick ahead for Newman to chase and Aidan McGowan brought the ball back for Huddersfield. Flanagan thought he had responded to Leeds’ try as he collected an inside pass from Joe Greenwood, but referee Tom Grant fortunately called the pass forward to deny the Giants full back, before Ryan Hall diffused a cross-field kick from Kieran Rush to deny another opportunity for the side in claret and gold.

Huddersfield continued to grow into the game as they turned the tables to put Leeds under pressure for the remainder of the half. McGowan had the side’s best chance when he took a ball over the top from Rush to race for the line, only for McCormack to come up with a great cover tackle to force the winger out of the field of play.

With half time in sight, two penalty goals from Connor ensured Leeds took an eight point lead into the interval. The half back was taken out by Ashton Golding as he attempted to chase down his own kick to earn the first penalty goal, before an obstruction on Newman by Zac Woolford saw Connor call for the kicking tee again. From 40 metres out, he sliced the uprights in half to make the score 8-0 at the break.

Looking to put their frustrations from the first half behind them, the Rhinos came out looking to revert to the structure that has seen them be so successful at this crucial stage of the season. Croft was lively once again as he engineered a break from McDonnell before the stand-off darted out to the edge, only for his pass to be batted down by Sam Halsall to stop a certain try for Hall.

Connor’s substitution early in the half was a concern for the Rhinos, who kept the Giants on the ropes – notably when Morgan Gannon forced Flanagan to drop out with a well-placed grubber kick. To Robinson’s side’s credit, they kept scrambling and forcing errors to keep themselves in the contest, but Gannon’s try on 59 minutes proved crucial for the Rhinos. Miller fired an awkward pass off the legs of O’Connor and there was nothing the Giants could do to stop Gannon collecting and scoring under the posts. Miller took the score to 14-0 as he took over the kicking duties.

A late hit on Croft by Joe Greenwood offered a chance for Sam Lisone to barrel his way over the try line, but referee Grant judged the prop had been held up. Despite Leeds challenging the call, the video referee had insufficient evidence to rule the try after looking at all available angles.

Flanagan tried to get late points for the Giants with an inspired break, but Miller and Croft combined for a magical Leeds try to confirm a fifth consecutive win for the Rhinos. Ducking and diving back inside, Miller chased his own chip kick ahead before feeding Croft for a brilliant finish to take the game out of reach.  

Hall could have crowned the win with a history-making try for the winger, but Halsall came up with a big play to deny his opposite number. Leeds kept the pressure on though and Oledzki took full advantage with a crash ball going for the try line. The video referee confirmed the on-field call, and Miller added the conversion to not just confirm a fifth consecutive win for the Rhinos, but a second successive game where they have kept an opponent scoreless.

Teams

Giants

29. George Flanagan Jr, 24. Aidan McGowan, 3. Jake Bibby, 1. Jacob Gagai, 5. Sam Halsall, 27. Keiran Rush, 36. Oliver Russell, 10. Thomas Burgess, 9. Zac Woolford, 22. Tristan Powell, 25. Jack Billington, 17. Joe Greenwood, 13. Harry Rushton

Subs: 14. Ashton Golding, 16. George King, 18. Fenton Rogers, 37. Marshall Land (18^th Man – 32. Archie Sykes)

Rhinos

1. Lachie Miller, 31. Chris Hankinson, 3. Harry Newman, 25. Ned McCormack, 5. Ryan Hall, 6. Brodie Croft, 18. Jake Connor, 8. Mikolaj Oledzki, 9. Andy Ackers, 17. Cooper Jenkins, 16. Morgan Gannon, 12. James McDonnell, 28. Kallum Watkins

Subs: 11. James Bentley, 15. Sam Lisone, 29. Presley Cassell, 14. Jarrod O’Connor (18^th Man – 20. Jack Sinfield)

Tries: Newman (11), Gannon (59), Croft (76), Oledzki (79)

Goals: Connor 2/3, Miller 3/3