The A-Z of Magic Weekend

Ahead of the 2026 Magic Weekend at Hill Dickinson Stadium this weekend, we thought we would run down our A-Z of Magic Weekend so you could pick out your favourite. Don't forget limited tickets are still available for this Sunday's massive clash with Bradford Bulls but be quick. Click here for more details. 

A is for…Anfield
Leeds headed to the home of Liverpool FC in 2019 in only Richard Agar’s third game in caretaker charge of the club after Dave Furner had left the club. It was the only time Leeds have ever played at Anfield, with the fixtures being the middle game on the Sunday with an attendance of 26,812 for that day. 

B is for…Bradford
Leeds and Bradford met in the first ever Magic Weekend as they brought the curtain down on the inaugural Millennium Magic. On their return to Super League this season, the Bulls will once again take on the Rhinos this year at Everton in the second of three meetings this season, with the Rhinos having won 24-12 at Bartercard Odsal earlier this season. 

C is for...Cardiff
The Welsh capital hosted the first two Magic Weekends and was instrumental in the creation of the Magic Weekend concept. With Wembley being developed after the 1999 Challenge Cup Final win for Leeds, the Challenge Cup Final was moved around the country with Finals played at Twickenham and Murrayfield but it was Cardiff where it really was a hit with fans with its central location and easy access to transport links. Such was the success of the 2003, 2004 and 2005 Finals that an effort was made to create an event in the RL calendar to come back to Cardiff when Wembley was back up and running. 

D is for...Doddie Weir
In 2023, Leeds wore a special kit in tribute to former Scottish Rugby Union legend Doddie Weir. The game was played in Newcastle, where Weir had played, and the kit featured Weir’s distinctive tartan was a fundraiser for the My Name’5 Doddie Foundation. 

E is for…Edinburgh
Whilst on a Scottish theme, Leeds played twice at the Magic Weekend in the Scottish capital at Murrayfield. The Rhinos had played there in the 2000 Challenge Cup Final defeat to the Bulls but had happier memories in 2009 and 2010 with wins over Catalans Dragons and Wakefield Trinity

F is for…Five
Danny McGuire scored a remarkable five tries in the Rhinos' 2012 win over Bradford Bulls at Manchester City’s stadium. 32,953 were in attendance with Carl Ablett scoring the Rhinos' only other try in a 37-22 win. 
 
G is for…Golden Point
In 2021, fans got their money's worth on the Saturday with two games going to Golden Point extra time, including the Rhinos' win over Hull FC. Jack Broadbent levelled the score with a try for Leeds with eight minutes of the contest remaining. It took two periods of golden point to eventually produce a winner. St Helens and Catalans had gone to Golden Point in the previous game that day too. 

H is for…Hill Dickinson Stadium 
The 2026 Magic Weekend will go to Everton’s impressive new home at Hill Dickinson Stadium. The stadium hosted the second Ashes Test last Autumn with Rhinos stars Kallum Watkins and Mikolaj Oledzki both involved that day. 

I is for…Indoors
The unique nature of the Principality Stadium in Cardiff meant that the Rhinos' three games there were played indoors under the roof. That was particularly important in 2011 with snow and freezing winds blowing around Cardiff in February, perfect conditions were maintained indoors. 

J is for…Jones-Bishop
Winger Ben Jones-Bishop announced himself in the 2011 Magic Weekend with a hat-trick in Brian McDermott’s first game in charge of the club. Jones-Bishop had not featured for the first team the previous season but put down a marker for the new boss with three tries against the Bulls. 

K is for…Kruise Leeming
In 2021, Kruise Leeming kicked his first ever drop goal to ensure a 25-24 win for Leeds against Hull FC at Newcastle. Leeming and Richie Myler had both missed drop goal efforts for Leeds in the first additional period of Golden Point, with the former then seeing another attempt hit the crossbar on the hooter after Newman had charged down one from Sneyd at the other end and sprinted upfield.
It was a similar story early in the second period of extra-time as Sneyd saw a long-range attempt fall short, but Leeming made no mistake at the third time of asking as he slotted one over from around 20 metres out to give the Rhinos' victory.

L is for…London
London Broncos became the Rhinos sixth different Magic Weekend opponent in 2019 at Anfield. Danny Ward’s side had been promoted to Super League that season and were battling it out with Leeds at the wrong end of the table. The sides went into the game level on points. The game ebbed and flowed as nerves got the better of both teams. Newman and Myler looked to have won it for Leeds before late tries from Abdull and Walker had Leeds fans nervously watching the clock tick down to give Richard Agar his first win in charge of the Rhinos. Strangely, hooker Matt Parcell received a two-match ban after the game for twice accidentally colliding with referee James Child. 

M is for…Marvel
For the 2017 and 2018 Magic Weekends up at Newcastle, the Rhinos, along with other clubs who had ISC kits, wore specially produced Marvel kit designs. The Rhinos Captain America inspired shirts were particularly memorable even if the results weren’t with the Rhinos losing out to Castleford on both occasions. 

N is for…Newcastle
The Rhinos have played at Newcastle United’s St James’ Park on eight occasions with three wins including last year’s victory over St Helens in front of a crowd of 31,294 with Morgan Gannon, Riley Lumb and Lachie Miller crossing for the Rhinos.

O is for…Opener
Back in 2011, the season kicked off with the Magic Weekend down at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium and the roof was welcome with snow covering much of the country that weekend. The game was also Brian McDermott’s first game in charge of the club in a season that would see Leeds make history by winning the Grand Final from fifth. 

P is for…Penalty try
People often remember the controversy of the Rhinos' first meeting with Bradford back in 2007 but the winning try in that opening game back in 2011 was a penalty try awarded after Ben Jones-Bishop was taken out by Gareth Raynor. With Bradford leading 28-26 and three minutes to go, Jones-Bishop broke clear before kicking ahead, as he looked to regather and score, Raynor tackled him off the ball and the penalty try was awarded. 

Q is for…Quadruple 
The Rhinos have met Bradford Bulls four times already at the Magic Weekend and are unbeaten against the men from Odsal. The first meeting back in 2007 was followed a year later by a convincing win for Brian McDermott’s side with seven different try scorers for Leeds including a debut try for French international Eric Anselme. The dramatic 2011 season was followed by an easier win at Etihad Stadium in 2012. The two sides meet again this July at Hill Dickinson Stadium. 

R is for…Ryan Hall
Ryan Hall made his debut in the 2007 Magic Weekend in Cardiff. He has a good record at the Magic Weekend, scoring 13 tries in 14 appearances for Leeds and Hull KR since then.  He has scored more tries at the Magic Weekend than any other player, two clear of his former Leeds team-mate Ben Jones-Bishop. This year he will also equal James Roby and Joe Westerman on the most appearances at the Magic Weekend. 

S is for…Saturday
Over the previous 18 Magic Weekends, the Rhinos have played the majority on the opening day. The Rhinos have played on the Saturday of the weekend on eleven occasions with seven games on Sundays, with one more to come this Sunday at Everton. 

T is for…Tansey
Jordan Tansey played 53 games for Leeds Rhinos but he will always be remembered for one particular game, the 2007 Magic Weekend. When Bradford Bulls were penalised near halfway by referee Steve Ganson, Kevin Sinfield had a kick at goal to level the game. Had the Bulls won the match, they would have gone top of Super League. However, Tansey was fastest to react when the ball hit the post and he touched down for the winning score. Some suggested he was offside, referee Ganson was having none of it and waved away the protests (and video evidence!). The Bulls have not been back to the summit of Super League yet since that day. 

U is for…Undefeated
The Rhinos had an impressive start to the Magic Weekend series. They were undefeated in the first six incarnations between 2007 and 2012, defeating the Bulls on four occasions as well as Catalans and Wakefield. However, their luck has not been so favourable with six defeats in a row after that. The Rhinos have won six of the last four Magic Weekends including last year against St Helens. 

V is for…Vickery
Australian winger Joe Vickery joined the Rhinos on trial at the start of the 2013 season when Ben Jones-Bishop was ruled out for six months because of a blood clot affecting his lungs on the eve of the season. Vickery played ten games for the Rhinos and scored his only try at the Magic Weekend at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester in defeat to Wigan. 

W is for…Webb
Brent Webb proved why Rhinos fans called him Superman when he scored a hat-trick of tries in the Rhinos' win over Bradford in 2007. He wasn’t the first player however to score a hat-trick at the Magic Weekend with Paul Wellens having crossed for four tries the day before in Saints' win over Wigan.

X is for…X Factor 
When Jack Sinfield kicked a drop goal in the 2025 Magic Weekend over St Helens at Newcastle, it was the first time that a father and son had both kicked drop goals at the Magic Weekend. Kevin Sinfield kicked a drop goal in the 37-22 win over Bradford at Manchester City in 2012.

Y is for…Yellow
Six Leeds players have sin-binned in the previous 18 Magic Weekends. Brent Webb was sent to the bin in the first Magic Weekend with Brett Delaney shown yellow in 2011. In 2014 in Manchester, Ryan Bailey was sent to cool down along with two Wigan players following a row whilst Aidan Sezer was sin-binned in 2022 against Castleford. In 2024, Sam Lisone and David Fusitu’a were both sent to the sin bin, in separate incidents, at Elland Road.

Z is for…Zero
One thing is for sure, you are guaranteed excitement with the Rhinos at the Magic Weekend. In the previous 18 games, there has never been an occasion when neither team has scored.