Leeds Rhinos 16 Leigh Leopards 20

After finding a late try to win in round 22, a no-try from Ryan Hall in the final moments couldn’t get Leeds Rhinos to victory once again as they lost out to Leigh Leopards 20-16 at AMT Headingley.

In their first home loss of the season, the Rhinos stayed in a gruelling fight with first-half tries from Brodie Croft and Ryan Hall, plus four goals from Jake Connor. In the end though, Hall’s second effort proved to be the gamebreaker as the Leopards continued their charge up the league standings.

Leeds made two changes to the side that defeated Wakefield Trinity on the road last time out. After the news that Alfie Edgell’s quad injury would rule the outside back out for the rest of the season, Ryan Hall was a welcome return on the wing for Leeds. The winger had not played since round 17 through a foot injury. James McDonnell’s absence also forced a change to the pack as Kallum Watkins slotted in at second row and Cameron Smith backed up a stellar performance against Trinity with a start at loose forward.

The sole change on the bench saw Fergus McCormack move from 18^th man to join Tom Holroyd, Presley Cassell, Zak Lloyd and Tom Holroyd – the latter celebrating a century of appearances for Leeds. Mik Oledzki also ran out for the 200^th time in Leeds colours.

After a thrilling 78-point affair twelve months ago, the first half of the 2026 edition of Leeds vs Leigh didn’t disappoint as fans were given a display of pure attacking rugby.

The home side were celebrating inside the opening five minutes as their first attacking set produced points for the Rhinos. Working the ball downfield with Cooper Jenkins and Mikolaj Oledzki setting the platform, a last tackle kick from Lachie Miller was lost in the air by Charnley and quickly swooped up by the returning Handley to put Hall over in the corner on the winger’s return to action.

The Leopards instantly found a response through free-scoring winger as Adrian Lam’s side didn’t wait to post their first points. Influential half-backs Adam Cook, Lachlan Lam and David Armstrong were at the heart of the attack as they combined to swing the ball out to the right edge. With Hanley wriggling through the tackle of Handley and Hall, the centre’s offload found the hands of Charnley to score in the corner. Cook locked the game up at 6-6 with 15 minutes gone.

The attacking shapes kept flowing, particularly for the home side as they were unlucky not to add to their tally. Jack Bird was posted into a hole by Brodie Croft, but even after nice handling, Miller eventually had to take the tackle with the line in sight. Newman was also able to exploit poor slide defence, only for the cutout pass from Connor intended for Hall to sail over the sideline.

A high shot on Miller by Joe Ofahengaue prompted Connor to slot a penalty goal to edge Leeds ahead once again, but the Leopards wiped out the points to take their first lead of the evening. A swing to Charnley’s wing was causing issues for the Rhinos as the winger found room to roam before a switch back across the field found Innes Senior for the winger to score despite Miller’s best attempts.

A fast-paced first half as Leeds’ defence morphed into attack to find a second try. Armstrong had Leigh fans hoping as the full-back broke clean through, but a clear forward pass for sub Edwin Ipape turned the ball back to the Rhinos in good territory. With Miller chiming in back against the run of play, an expert pass from the full-back put a try on the plate of Croft as the half-back’s try tally climbed to 26.

Unwilling to back down when other visiting teams to Headingley have, the Leopards responded again to lock the score up at the break. Leeds had lost Bird on the set before as the centre was taken for a HIA after a collision with Armstrong. His replacement, Zak Lloyd, stepped up and produced a huge moment of his own, tracking a break from Charnley to stop the more experienced winger. Inevitably, the away side’s spine ran the show to shift the ball and put Senior in space for the winger to cut inside and finish. Cook dragged the conversion to send the teams into the break all square at 14-14.

Whereas the first 40 minutes was pulsating with plenty of tries to keep both sides entertained, the second half proved to be more of a grind as the teams were locked in a clear arm wrestle.

Advantage went the way of the Rhinos when an escort by Hanley on Handley saw Connor opt for goal to get Leeds ahead by two points again. It was the only points scored for almost 20 minutes though as Newman was held up in the Rhinos’ best effort, whilst Croft produced a dump tackle on Mulhern to stop the prop’s offload for Lam.

Finally, the Leopards came up with what turned out to be the game-breaking try. A poor offload by Handley was picked up by Isaac Liu for the away side to start their attack, and a break down the right from Charnley was supported by Hanley for the centre to finish. Cook’s conversion set up an exciting final 20 minutes with the score at 20-16.

Excitement amongst the Leeds fans heightened when a hip-drop tackle on Newman saw referee Chris Kendall send Andrew Badrock to the sin bin. Even with the extra man, the Rhinos struggled to break down the wall of red and white in front of them; Oledzki and Jenkins both making inspired breaks that ultimately ended up in Leigh coming away with possession.

Set on trying to use Hall’s wing to find the breakthrough, a close call for the Leopards saw Handley just lose grip of a Connor pass to deny Leeds another chance. A huge 40/20 kick from the Leeds half-back looked to put the game on a plate for the Rhinos, especially when Hall took Connor’s high kick on the last tackle and drove for the line in what looked to be the winning score. On further review, the video referee overturned the call as Hall’s foot was in touch and, in turn, handed the Leopards the two league points.

Teams

Rhinos

1. Lachie Miller, 3. Harry Newman, 33. Jack Bird, 4. Ash Handley (C), 5. Ryan Hall, 6. Brodie Croft, 7. Jake Connor, 8. Mikolaj Oledzki, 9. Jarrod O’Connor, 15. Cooper Jenkins, 14. Chris Hankinson, 11. Kallum Watkins, 17. Cameron Smith

Subs: 10. Tom Holroyd, 20. Presley Cassell, 28. Fergus McCormack, 30. Zak Lloyd (18^th Man – 26. Tom Nicholson-Watton)

Tries: Hall (3), Croft (26)

Goals: Connor 2/2

Penalty Goal: Connor 2/2

Leopards

1. David Armstrong, 19. Innes Senior, 23. Andrew Badrock, 4. Umyla Hanley, 5. Josh Charnley, 6. Adam Cook, 7. Lachlan Lam, 8. Joe Ofahengaue, 17. Liam Horne, 13. Isaac Liu, 22. Jack Hughes, 12. Owen Trout, 25. Louis Brogan

Subs: 10. Robbie Mulhern, 16. Matt Davis, 15. Jacob Alick-Wiencke, 9. Edwin Ipape (18^th Man – 21. Gareth O’Brien)

Tries: Charnley (6), Senior (23, 38) Hanley (56)

Goals: Cook 2/4

Sin Bin: Andrew Badrock (61 - Dangerous Tackle/Hip Drop)