Leeds Rhinos U18 30 Wakefield Trinity U18 22

Three second half tries from Noah Lunn, Alfie Steel and Bailey Hardy, as well as a penalty goal from Seth Marchant, helped Leeds Rhinos Under-18s overturn a 10-point deficit at half time to beat Wakefield Trinity 30-22 at Stanningley.

The opening ten minutes looked as though the visitors were set for a long evening as two tries from the Rhinos got Chev Walker’s side into a quick lead. A lively start saw Wade White find early gaps to break free, and after the full back had released Seth Marchant to get within range, Leeds wasted no time in converting the chance. Alfie Steel and Harvey Butterworth came close to finding their way over, but another forward in Hughie Tinkler took a flat ball to crash his way over to open the scoring.

A knock-on by Wakefield’s Harry Mervill immediately put the away side back by their own line, and Evan Jones made sure he brushed off two tackles to force his way over as the Rhinos looked to have a comfortable grasp on the contest.

An almost immediate response changed the dynamic as four tries from Trinity over the next 25 minutes saw Kieron Purtill’s side change the tide. Makers of their own first half downfall, the young Rhinos handed James Sharp the chance to race free, but great slide defence managed to retreat to stop the winger. With the Rhinos transitioning into goal line defence, the home side couldn’t hold out Wakefield as Sharp took a harbour bridge pass from Jackson Cummins to find the corner.

The young Rhinos pushed to extend their lead but had all opportunities turned away by a stubborn Wakefield side. Winger Tom Richardson was denied two huge scoring chances; the first seeing him lose the ball on the way to the ground from a set scrum play, before Trinity’s defence slid across well to deny the winger again as frustrations began to rise. At the opposite end of the field, Sean Hall also missed a chance for Wakefield off the back of a Cummins 40/20. Within range of the try line, the second rower couldn’t get his hands right as he lost the ball at the crucial moment.

Regardless, Trinity responded with back-to-back tries as they took the lead for the first time in the contest. Full back Ethan Taylor danced his way through the challenges of Kai Irvine and Scott Walker to get an important score for the away side, before Jack Smith finished off a break clean through the Leeds defence to move Purtill’s side into the driving seat.

Now down 18-12 with under ten minutes to go, another Richardson try went begging as the winger was forced into touch off the back of a flick pass from Sonny Hetherington. Despite referee Lucas Seal spotting a deflection off a Wakefield man, Leeds were made to rue the missed chance on their opponents’ try line as Sharp added his second of the game on the half-time whistle. A deep Cummins kick had pinned White back behind his own try line, but as he looked to clear his line, a fumble by the Leeds full back handed the ball directly to Wakefield, who spread the ball wide for Sharp to cross. Cummins converted to make the score 22-12 at the break.

Whatever was said in the half-time interval, an undermanned Rhinos outfit came out with venom in the second 40 minutes and punished a Wakefield side who struggled for most of the second period.

Warning signs showed when an offside penalty against Harvey Butterworth fortunately gave Wakefield possession, even though full back Taylor had fumbled the ball under pressure from the Leeds player. Riding Trinity’s first attacking set of the half, Leeds began to build their own pressure as a last tackle kick from Marchant gifted the Rhinos a set restart inside their opponents’ 10 metre area. Testing the line with good runs, Alfie Steel found the breakthrough moment as he barrelled his way over from short range to get Leeds off to the perfect start.

No sooner had they got one try, the Rhinos quickly levelled the game as Hardy got his first try of the season with a great effort. Leeds had started to click into gear, and a break by Jacob Tooala set the home side up once again. After forcing a goal line drop out, a quick switch across the field caught Trinity out this time as Marchant, Irvine and White linked up to put Hardy over in the corner. Marchant missed the conversion as the score sat at a 22-all stalemate.

Trinity were floundering as their first half scoreline was whittled down, and ill-discipline saw them suffer a third try of the half before the hour mark. A holding down penalty against Steel handed Leeds field position, but when a frantic end to the set looked to end any chance of points, substitute hooker Naoh Lunn showed great skill to grubber kick ahead and plant the ball down himself for a sensational solo effort.

With Marchant’s conversion giving Leeds a six-point buffer, both sides locked horns at the game’s critical point. Whilst they struggled to make their own chances, Wakefield’s defence managed to keep the scoreline as it resiliently charged down Hetherington following an interception by the centre on Cummins. Hardy and Marchant kept the attack going, but a crucial play from Harry Knight denied Hardy a second try as the winger tried to go for the corner. On the opposite side of the field, Richardson again was left without a score as he chased down his own kick ahead but was judged to have knocked on by referee Seal.

The game’s final straw favoured the home side though as a ball strip on Jones in the final five minutes saw Marchant point to the posts. Converting the penalty goal, the Rhinos managed to get the result over the line to move four games unbeaten in the Academy league.

Teams

Rhinos

1. Wade White, 2. Tom Richardson, 3. Sonny Hetherington, 4. Jacob Tooala, 5. Bailey Hardy, 6. Seth Marchant, 7. Kai Irvine, 8. Evan Jones, 9. Jack Mears, 10. Hughie Tinkler, 11. Alfie Steel, 12. Robin Smith, 13. Harvey Butterworth

Subs: 14. Noah Lunn, 15. Brennan Townend, 16. Scott Walker, 17. Lewis Jalal (18^th Man – Connor Lawrie)

Tries: Tinkler (5), Jones (10), Steel (45), Hardy (49), Lunn (56)

Goals: Marchant 4/5

Penalty Goals: Marchant 1/1

Trinity

1. Ethan Taylor, 2. Harry Knight, 3. Elijah Hylton, 4. Harry Mervill, 5. James Sharp, 6. Jack Smith, 7. Jackson Cummins, 8. Mason Bowes, 9. Zach Taylor, 10. Jacob Greaves, 11. Marco Morgan, 12. Sean Hall, 13. Will Rolls

Subs: 14. Charlie Tinker, 15. Theo Ndlovu, 16. Otis Stephens, 17. Luke Winstanley (18^th Man – Eddie Ashman)

Tries: Sharp (13, 39), Taylor (30), Smith (33)

Goals: Cummins 3/4