Wigan Warriors 24 Leeds Rhinos 4

Leeds Rhinos’ winning form in the Betfred Super League came to an end in round 11 as Brad Arthur’s side suffered a disappointing 24-4 defeat at the hands of Wigan Warriors.

A trio of first-half tries from the Warriors ended the contest before Jake Wardle added a second half try to confirm the league points. Maika Sivo’s consolation effort gave the travelling Rhinos fans something to cheer on what was a tough night on the road.

Leeds made two changes to the side that came away victorious in round ten as they faced the 2026 Challenge Cup Finalists. Harry Newman slotted into the outside backs in place of Jack Bird as the England international made his first Leeds appearance since the defeat away against Hull FC, whilst Tom Holroyd was named in the pack as the sole swap. Mikolaj Oledzki dropped to the bench as Arthur opted for three forwards and a substitute hooker in Jarrod O’Connor, Cooper Jenkins and Cameron Smith.

Aiming for a sixth consecutive win in the league for the first time since 2022, the Rhinos faced a challenge to extend their current streak as they took on a familiar Wigan side, who rediscovered form with wins over Bradford and St Helens in the league and Cup in recent weeks. It was a positive start from the visitors to the Brick Community Stadium as good defence pinned the Warriors in their own half for back-to-back sets, but the pressure dissipated as Matt Peet’s side found the first points of the contest. Utilising the opportunity to attack Leeds’ half of the field off the back of a holding down penalty, Wigan’s last tackle kick saw Harry Smith pinpoint a high bomb towards Sam Walters, and the former Leeds forward patted the ball back into the arms of Jack Farrimond for a walk-in score inside ten minutes.

More poor discipline from Leeds led to Eckersley threatening to add to his 20-try tally in 2026 on two occasions. Finding himself in space from Farrimond’s pass, the winger was forced inside from good defence by Sivo before a wild offload brought an end to proceedings. The video referee was called into action for Eckersley’s second effort to confirm the grounding of an aerial finish in the corner, but Jack Smith disallowed the try for a knock on by the Wigan man.

As the half wore on, a scuffle between Leeds Brodie Croft and James McDonnell, and Wigan’s Harry Smith and Jai Field showcased the tensions that simmering between two of Super League’s most recognisable clubs. Field’s half break almost led to Eckersley sliding in at the corner - only for Lachie Miller to intervene at the last moment – whilst at the opposite end of the field, a combination of a strong Sivo drive and knock on by Noah Hodkinson saw Leeds have their best chance at points, but Adam Keighran broke the attack up. Intercepting Connor’s attempted pass over the top, the Wigan centre’s breakaway was pressurised by Handley, but the Leeds centre’s efforts were thwarted as Keighran doubled the Warriors’ lead to 12-0.

The Rhinos were handed a golden opportunity to get themselves back in the half as a flurry of penalties and set restarts conceded by Wigan almost led to Newman planting down a grubber kick by Miller. With the decision going up to the video referee, the centre was a whisker away from having a hand on the ball, inevitably denying the try. Shifting quickly downfield, the Warriors converted their scoring chance as a knock on by Danny Levi proved the catalyst in Hodkinson having the opportunity to dive over in the corner.

With the score at 16-0 in favour of the Warriors, Leeds needed a stroke of luck to go their way and they got fortunate when an adjudged knock on by Croft was overturned as a ball steal by video referee Smith after Handley’s captain’s challenge. The Rhinos couldn’t take the chance as Miller’s kick sailed out of play on the final tackle, sending the sides into the half time break with the Warriors ahead by three tries.

A tough night continued early in the second period as a knock on by Ryan Hall from Smith’s long range last tackle kick summed up Leeds’ display as the Warriors went searching once again. Despite good defence stopping the charges of Kaide Ellis and Jake Wardle, an offside call against the Rhinos’ goal line defence saw Keighran call for the kicking tee to convert the penalty goal.

Wardle continued the Warriors scoring on the 51-minute mark as a chip kick from Smith was palmed back by Hodkinson into his centre’s hands as the game started to slip away from the away side.

In response, Leeds fumbled another chance for points as Croft’s kick was allowed to bounce away from Field and Eckersley, who ended up colliding to leave Handley free to score, but the skipper couldn’t keep his hands on the ball going to ground. To their credit, the Rhinos kept quizzing the Warriors’ defence with good last tackle kicks that forced goal-line drop-outs and finally they got a result. Spine players Croft, Connor and Miller all combined to stretch the Warriors defence and inevitably Sivo was able to drive past Eckersley for his 18^th try of the Super League season.

Brilliance from Connor saw a 40/20 from the boot of the half back gift a chance to the Rhinos within range again, but slide defence carried Newman over the sideline to turn over possession as the Warriors reinserted themselves on a hopeful Leeds outfit to round out a 24-4 final score.

Teams

Warriors

1. Jai Field, 2. Zach Eckersley, 3. Adam Keighran, 4. Jake Wardle, 28. Noah Hodkinson, 19. Jack Farrimond, 7. Harry Smith, 8. Ethan Havard, 9. Brad O’Neill, 10. Luke Thompson, 11. Junior Nsemba, 14. Sam Walters, 17. Oliver Partington

Subs: 13. Kaide Ellis, 15. Patrick Mago, 20. Sam Eseh Jr, 25. Taylor Kerr (18^th Man: 23. Kian McDermott)

Tries: Farrimond (5), Keighran (21), Hodkinson (29), Wardle (51)

Goals: Keighran 3/4

Penalty Goals: Keighran 1/1

Rhinos

1. Lachie Miller, 2. Maika Sivo, 4. Ash Handley (C), 3. Harry Newman, 5. Ryan Hall, 6. Brodie Croft, 7. Jake Connor, 10. Tom Holroyd, 23. Danny Levi, 13. Keenan Palasia, 14. Chris Hankinson, 12. James McDonnell,11. Kallum Watkins

Subs: 8. Mikolaj Oledzki, 9. Jarrod O’Connor, 15. Cooper Jenkins, 17. Cameron Smith (18th Man – 26. Tom Nicholson-Watton)

Tries: Sivo (65)

Goals: Connor 0/1