A spectacular six-try second half saw Leeds Rhinos turn the tables to record a 32-22 win against Catalans Dragons in one of the best games of the 2023 season.

Coming off the back of defeat to Castleford Tigers the week before, Rohan Smith's side turned around a fourteen-point deficit at half time and kept the unbeaten Dragons scoreless with twelve players at one point in the second half. Man of the match Jarrod O'Connor stood out with the lively outing in a great team performance, alongside two-time try scorer Harry Newman, Blake Austin and Nene Macdonald to name a few.

Smith made changes to the side that loss last time out, bringing youngsters Sam Walters and Corey Johnson into the matchday squad. The only change in the forward pack saw Zane Tetevano line up in the back row, as James Bentley served his one-match suspension, and  Rhyse Martin moved into centres to partner Papua New Guinean team mate Nene Macdonald. Derrell Olpherts dropped to the bench to join Johnson, Sam Lisone and Justin Sangare.

The match was the Rhinos' first afternoon game of the season but in the spring sunshine, the Dragons opened the scoring. Leeds had Catalans pinned down by their own line thanks to good kick from Austin,  but after a penalty earned the visitors a boost upfield, a slick move through the hands of Tyrone May and Arthur Mourgue opened up space for Arthur Romano to put Tom Davies over for an acrobatic finish.

Leeds took back control of the game thanks to well-worked tries from Harry Newman and Rhyse Martin. After a ranging kick early in the tackle count saw Blake Austin release Martin to put the Rhinos within scoring range, a clever pass over the top from Cam Smith caught the Dragons short on defenders and allowed Newman to walk in to score his second try in successive home matches.

Like lightning, the Rhinos found themselves ahead out of nothing. Sezer's high bomb was left to bounce by the Dragons defenders and as Rhyse Martin picked up the loose ball, he tried a dab kick for in the in-goal area. Up against Mourgue, it looked like a mismatch but the Papua New Guinean did well to stretch out an arm and ground the ball to put Leeds ahead by two points.

With the home side looking red hot, Macdonald was inches away from getting a third try of the half for Leeds but the video referee replay showed that the outside back had let his forearm touch the ground before grounding the ball. Newman had a big chance too but Aidan Sezer's kick didn't sit up at the right time for the centre.

Knowing they were under pressure, the Dragons found a foothold in the latter stages of the half to score three consecutive tries. Off the back of an offside call against the Rhinos, the visitors hit the front on the scoreboard with Adam Keighran's score, before Mitchell Pearce bundled over for a controversial finish that looked like a double movement.

Down at the other end, Zane Tetevano's try looked crucial going into the break, only for referee Liam Moore to call the pass from Myler forward. Not satisfied with the score as it was, the Dragons took advantage of a rogue offload from Martin as Paul Seguier touched down to make the score 22-8 at half time.

 

Coming out for the second half, the early sin-binning of Harry Newman for dissent looked to jeopardise the Rhinos' chances of a fightback, but Richie Myler's try minutes later got Headingley hoping for a comeback. Off the back of a break from Austin, half back partner Aidan Sezer poked himself through the Catalans defence and freed the ball for Myler to race under the posts for the crucial score.

The Dragons lost Tyrone May but their problems were only just beginning as the home side continued to dominate. Austin teed up a brilliant chance as his high kick would have connected with Fusitu'a, but Matt Whitley's intervention forced a dropout. The Rhinos kept pounding the red wall in front of them with the repeat set and man of the match Jarrod O'Connor took advantage of poor markers to score out of dummy half and keep the score board ticking in favour of the team in blue and amber.

Leeds' energy out of dummy half and expansive rugby was catching the visitors out, especially when Macdonald's break should have set Newman, who returned to the field, up for a certain try but the video referee spotted the centre's foot was in touch. On the other side of the field, Olpherts' introduction saw the outside back get his first try on home soil, thanks to an error from Mike McMeeken. The Catalans forward lost the ball under pressure from Martin and Macdonald's quick thinking saw him quickly offload the loose ball to put Austin away again. With Olpherts taking his half back's offload, he did well to fend off Pearce and dance with the sideline to bring Leeds back within two.

Austin had one of his best outings in a Rhinos shirt and quickly set Leeds up with a 40/20 kick. Only a couple of plays into the new set, the former Warrington and Canberra half spotted a mismatch between Tom Holroyd and Alrix Da Costa and passed short to put Holroyd over for his second try of the season. Sezer took over the kicking duties and converted to give Leeds the lead for the first time in the half.

The atmosphere kicked up a notch in the final ten minutes as the Dragons looked for a response and the Rhinos tried to defend their lead. Despite their best efforts to try and set up an attack, the game slipped away from the Dragons as a poor kick from Pearce set Myler away into the backfield. Cheered on by the South Stand, Myler found Newman in support and the centre charged away from Johnstone to swan dive under the posts and round off a resounding win for the Rhinos.