6 hrs

Leeds Rhinos Reserves 18 Wakefield Trinity Reserves

By Josh Mee

Leeds Rhinos Reserves came back from a 14-point deficit in the second half against Wakefield Trinity to earn a hard-fought draw at the Arthur Miller Stadium. Chev Walker’s Rhinos struggled for fluidity in the first half, with Wakefield Trinity taking an 18-4 lead into the break. However, Rhinos’ fitness prevailed in the second half, allowing the home side to take advantage of Trinity’s tiring bodies and finish the game level, not yielding a single point to the visitors in the second 40.

The visiting Wakefield took the lead after six minutes when Kian McGann went over in the left corner following some early penalty concessions by the Rhinos defence. Myles Lawford added the two and pushed the score to six.

Trinity then doubled their try tally after 18 minutes, with a short grubber kick from Charlie Abraham being successfully touched down by Zach Clegg. Lawford again added the two and Wakefield’s score moved to 12.

Rhinos finally got themselves into the game after half an hour, being rewarded with a try when Riley Lumb squeezed over in the corner after multiple big carries through the Wakefield defence. Despite the conversion being missed, Leeds had got onto the scoreboard, making the score 4-12.

Wakefield fired back nearly immediately, claiming their third try of the half just before the break. Mason Bowes crashed over under the posts after riding challenges from the Rhinos defence. Lawford added the third kick and the score going into the break was 4-18.

The second half began in completely different fashion to the first, with it taking just seven minutes for the Rhinos to begin their comeback. Huge carries through every phase of the set led to Ben Littlewood going over just to the right of the posts. Zak Lloyd converted and the score moved to 10-18.

Following this, some resilient defending on Leeds’ own touchline prevented Wakefield restoring the lead they took into the half. The momentum continued to shift, and Leeds brought the score to within two after 67 minutes. Ned McCormack linked up beautifully with Riley Lumb on the left wing following some fast hands from the Rhinos back line. The ball being shifted out quickly provided the pair a two-on-one advantage, which McCormack accepted by flying over the try line for another Leeds score. Harley Thomas then converted and the match had just two points in it.

Leeds then finally went level thanks to a penalty kick from Thomas, awarded to the hosts right in front of the posts, allowing the Rhinos number three a simple kick to bring the scoreline to 18-18 with ten minutes to go.

Wakefield were clearly tiring and Leeds put them under immense pressure, making huge carries during every single phase. However, Trinity refused to be beaten, just managing to hold out for the draw.

Leeds Rhinos Reserves

1 Fergus McCormack

2 Oscar Brown

3 Harley Thomas

4 Ned McCormack

5 Riley Lumb

6 Harry Smith

7 George Brown

8 Ben Littlewood

9 Joe Diskin

10 Tom Nicholson-Watton

11 Jacob Stead