Wakefield Trinity 24 Leeds Rhinos 14

Leeds Rhinos suffered a disappointing 24-14 defeat at the hands of Wakefield Trinity as the Rhinos’ 2026 Betfred Challenge Cup run was cut short at the last 16 stage.

After a power outage inside the first ten minutes, three tries for left edge combination Maika Sivo and Ash Handley looked to put the Rhinos in a confident spot heading into the break, but tries from Oli Pratt, Matty Storton and Ky Rodwell forced a second half turnaround to book Trinity’s place in the quarter finals.

Two changes for the Rhinos saw England international Mikolaj Oledzki return for Brad Arthur as the prop made it onto the bench after missing all four league games so far. James McDonnell was a late withdrawal against Castleford last Sunday but was fit for the trip to Wakefield as he replaced Ethan O’Neill, who missed out along with Jeremiah Mata’utia.

The rest of the Rhinos squad remained the same as the one that beat the Tigers, as February’s Player of the Month Maika Sivo and Try of the Month winner Ryan Hall led the lineup on the wings, whilst George Brown kept his place in the absence of Brodie Croft.

Leeds were put on high alert in the early minutes as the returning Tom Johnstone put Trinity on the front foot with a break, but Wakefield’s pressure and the heat of the tie dissipated on six minutes as a power cut halted the game. 23 minutes later, the teams emerged from the dressing rooms when the lights finally came back on, but Trinity clicked back into gear to get the first points of the game.

Jack Sinfield’s drop of the shoulder fooled Keenan Palaisa and Danny Levi, but not Lachie Miller as the Leeds full back managed to hold the Trinity half back up over the line. After Sivo was unable to keep hold of an interception attempt and Miller was forced to concede a goal-line dropout six tackles later, a makeshift play from Harvey Smith on the last tackle saw the hooker drive for the line to get the ball down and make the most of Wakefield’s pressure.

A period without a true attacking set ended for Leeds as they were handed promising field position after a knock on by Josh Rourke from a Jake Connor last tackle kick. George Brown came close to points, having scored on his Cup and club debut last time out against Widnes, but a quick shift across the field caught Trinity short on numbers as Handley provided a slick offload for Sivo to score in the corner.

The tie built into a well-fought affair as both sides matched each other blow for blow. A half break by Handley saw the centre almost round his opposite number to open up another chance for the visitors, but Wakefield responded as Johnstone came close to connecting with a chip kick from Trueman to keep the home side in the clash.

With the half-time break in sight, two tries from the Rhinos saw them turn the game’s momentum as the away side attempted to pull away on the scoreboard.

Trinity looked set to score when Johnstone found space on the edge, but confident cover defence from Brown put the winger over the sideline before he could get away. Off the back of the inspired effort, a quick play of the ball from substitute Tom Holroyd laid the platform for a move through the hands of Miller and Connor to find Handley, who cut back against the Wakefield defence to score.

An opportunistic play saw Sivo get his second of the game too as the Fijian toe-poked a kick from Connor ahead before taking the ball out of Rourke’s grasp to get the ball to ground. Wakefield had one last say on the hooter though as Johnstone managed to take a chip kick from Sinfield and quickly pass inside for Oli Pratt to touch down under the posts and cut the score to 14-12 at the break.

Buoyed by their late first-half score, Trinity went in search of more points from a repeat set. With Sivo unable to take a kick from Sinfield, quick handling across the line looked fancy for Daryl Powell’s men, but a poor end to the set was disappointing for the home fans.

Nevertheless, Matty Storton's fourth try of the season came at an important time as the prop crashed over the line to put Wakefield back ahead. Leeds had opportunities to try and post more points, but a crucial short drop out by Sinfield was taken high by Johnstone to end the Rhinos’ attack. Minutes later, the winger cut through attempted tackles to set Trinity up, before Sinfield and Faatili helped post Storton through a gap to force his way over.

Much like the first half, Leeds needed a moment to get possession in a good attacking area. Although his initial chip kick didn’t come off, Miller forced a mistake from Rourke to take the ball back close to the Trinity try line, but a knock on by McDonnell on the last tackle ended a promising attack.

A mad few minutes continued for Leeds as, although Oli Pratt couldn’t connect with a grubber kick from Trueman, Harry Newman was shown a yellow card for obstructing Seth Nikotemo in the process. Sinfield couldn’t convert the penalty goal attempt as the ball drifted wide, but the extra man benefited Trinity as Ky Rodwell took an offload from Jay Pitts to go under the posts. With Sinfield back on target, the score moved to 24-14 with seven minutes to go.

The Rhinos needed to chance their hand if they wanted a quarter-final spot and came up with a huge play when the short kick off worked for Miller. Connor tried to fire a pass wide for Hall, but to no reward as the winger couldn’t stop the ball heading into touch.

Teams

Trinity

23. Josh Rourke, 21. Jayden Myers, 3. Cameron Scott, 2. Oli Pratt, 5. Tom Johnstone, 20. Jack Sinfield, 6. Jake Trueman, 8. Mike McMeeken, 17. Harvey Smith, 10. Ky Rodwell, 11. Seth Nikotemo, 18. Isaiah Vagana, 13. Jazz Tevaga

Subs: 12. Matty Storton, 14. Jay Pitts, 15. Caleb Hamlin-Uele, 16. Caius Faatili (18^th Man – 1. Max Jowitt)

Tries: Smith (11), Pratt (40), Storton (51), Rodwell (70)

Goals: Sinfield 3/4

Penalty Goal: Sinfield 0/1

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, 12. James McDonnell, 17. Cameron Smith

Subs: 8. Mikolaj Oledzki, 9. Jarrod O’Connor, 10. Tom Holroyd, 14. Chris Hankinson, (18^th Man – 33. Jack Bird)

Tries: Sivo (17, 36), Handley (32)

Goals: Connor 2/3

Sin Bin: Newman (66 – Escort/Obstruction)