Leeds Rhinos 22 Castleford Tigers 4

Another Maika Sivo masterclass helped Leeds Rhinos to a conservative 22-4 win over Castleford Tigers at AMT Headingley in round four of the Betfred Super League.

The Fijian winger took his tally for the season to nine as he recorded a hat trick against the Tigers -  a week after the Fords had got their first win of the Super League campaign. George Brown also got over for the Rhinos, who continued a strong start to the new season.

Following their win in Vegas, the Rhinos made three changes from the side that dominated Hull KR across the Atlantic. Injury to Brodie Croft saw George Brown come back into the halves for his third appearance of the season, and a late withdrawal from James McDonnell gave Ethan O’Neill a start in the back row. One change on the bench brought Jeremiah Mata’utia into the matchday 17 in place of Ben Littlewood, who was in action for Championship side Hunslet alongside Presley Cassell and Tom Nicholson-Watton.

As expected, the Rhinos gingerly started the contest as a resurgent Castleford side looked to make the most of their opponents’ trans-Atlantic trip seven days ago. Opportunities were rare ten minutes in, but after probing the Tigers’ defensive line, the first points went the way of the home side as Brown marked his return to the squad with a score. A towering bomb from Jake Connor was allowed to bounce by Zac Cini, and as Maika Sivo pushed the ball back into the hands of Keenan Palasia, an American Football-style pass from the forward found Brown for his debut Super League try.

Unwilling to back down to their Yorkshire rivals, the Tigers hit back almost instantly to surprise the crowd. Palasia’s intended offload found the hands of George Hirst to start Castleford's counter attack, and a quick shift to the edge found Leeds short on numbers as Mikaele Ravalawa bullied his way into the corner. Tom Weaver couldn’t convert as the Rhinos still held a slender two-point advantage.

A half break from Ravalawa caught Leeds asleep at the wheel, but luckily the attack came to nothing. On the opposite side of the field, though, another star performance was brewing as Maika Sivo opened his account for the afternoon to restore Leeds’ lead. Great play from George Brown caught the Tigers in-goal, before the drop-out attempt didn’t go the required ten metres. With a chance to stretch the Castleford line, quick hands from Cameron Smith and Jake Connor gave Lachie Miller time to launch a ball to the corner for Sivo to finish.

The final acts of the half should have seen Arthur’s men add to their score as Cameron Smith tried a run for the try line. As video referee Marcus Griffiths was called into action for the first time, he judged that Smith didn’t get the ball on the ground – the Rhinos having to settle with a 10-4 scoreline after the first 40 minutes.

Buoyed by a half-time lead and fans excited to see more after his Vegas outing, Sivo ensured the game was comfortably in the hands of the Rhinos with a second try seven minutes into the second period. Castleford had struggled throughout the game to deal with Leeds’ kicks, and this time, a Connor bomb was pushed back by Miller to Kallum Watkins, whose long-range pass was on target as Sivo waltzed over. Connor’s conversion made the score 16-4.

The Tigers kept the Rhinos on their toes despite not adding any more points in the contest. Cini looked to have grabbed a score back for the visitors, only for the video referee to rule the score out for a clear knock on by Hirst. Sensing danger, Leeds retaliated by forcing penalties to move downfield, and Sivo delivered the final product with his third try of the afternoon – the winger taking Chris Hankinson’s offload to lock up the league points.

A professional final 20 minutes saw the Rhinos close out the result, as the Tigers struggled to gain any positive field position. Pinning Cini back by his own line and muscling up in defence, good work from Leeds’ middle unit ensured Castleford’s chances remained very few. Even when Krystian Mapapalangi and Jason Qareqare found space to break down the edge, good cover defence turned the ball over.

Hankinson tried to grab a try of his own to truly put the game away, but the final whistle confirmed a third consecutive win for the Rhinos. They head to Wakefield Trinity next Friday night in round four of the Betfred Challenge Cup.

Teams

Rhinos

1. Lachie Miller, 2. Maika Sivo, 4. Ash Handley (C), 3. Harry Newman, 5. Ryan Hall, 27. George Brown, 7. Jake Connor, 15. Cooper Jenkins, 23. Danny Levi, 13. Keenan Palasia, 11. Kallum Watkins, 16. Ethan O’Neill, 17. Cameron Smith

Subs: 9. Jarrod O’Connor, 10. Tom Holroyd, 14. Chris Hankinson, 19. Jeremiah Mata’utia (18^th Man – 33. Jack Bird)

Tries: Brown (13), Sivo (29, 47, 55)

Goals: Connor 3/4

Tigers

3. Zac Cini, 5. Mikaele Ravalawa, 4. Darnell McIntosh, 23. Krystian Mapapalangi, 22. Jason Qareqare, 6. Daejarn Asi, 7. Tom Weaver, 8. Renouf Atoni, 9. Liam Hood, 16. Joe Westerman, 11. Jordan Lane, 32. George Hirst, 13. Joe Stimson

Subs: 31. Ashton Golding, 15. Jack Ashworth, 25. Sam Hall, 10. George Lawler (18^th Man – 17. Chris Atkin)

Tries: Ravalawa (19)

Goals: Weaver 0/1