By Charlie O'Brien

Leeds Rhinos made it five wins in a row for the first time in twenty-three years with a convincing victory over Warrington Wolves.  Tries for Croft, Holroyd, Connor, Gannon and a brace for Cameron Smith saw the hosts run out victors by a margin of 36-12.

Brad Arthur made just one change to the side that recorded a tense victory over Wakefield Trinity last time out, with Morgan Gannon returning to the squad and James Bentley dropping to the bench. Lachie Miller was deemed fit to start after picking up a knock against Trinity.

Leeds started brightly, probing the Warrington backline for much of the first fifteen minutes. They mustered half chances, including a looped kick over the line by Connor which Wire palmed away for a goal line dropout.

Rhinos believed they had broken the deadlock on seventeen minutes when a beautiful drop of the shoulder from Lachie Miller saw him breach the Wolves’ backline, but a video referral confirmed referee Chris Kendall’s decision that the ball did not cross the line. A few minutes later Miller was in the action on the other end of the pitch, spilling the ball in his own goal line before it was slapped behind by Oledzki.

Warrington grew into the game, restricting Leeds to full sets in their own half for the first time in the match. They too had a try disallowed in very similar circumstances, with Aussie prop Paul Vaughan stopped just short in between the posts, straining desperately to stretch his arm over the line to no avail.

A third disallowed try of the half fell to Leeds. Harry Newman went over on the right-hand side but it was adjudged that he was the beneficiary of a collision in the centre between Fitzgibbon and James McDonnell, and the try was chalked off for obstruction.

Leeds would not have to wait much longer to break the deadlock, however. Warrington, licking their wounds after a heartbreaking late defeat in the Challenge Cup final last weekend, were sloppy in possession at times in the first half, losing the ball when George Williams spilled a pass. From the resulting set, the Rhinos worked the ball 10 yards out on the right before a simple pass allowed a completely free Cameron Smith to go over between the posts. It was a simple kick for the in-form Jake Connor, who duly converted, depositing the ball over the away stand in the process.

The Rhinos were able to extend their first half advantage after the half-time hooter had sounded. Awarded a penalty for a high tackle centre-left and twenty yards out, Connor converted convincingly to leave the score 8-0 at the break.

The Rhinos, as they have done in several games over the last couple of months, came roaring out of the blocks in the second half. Five minutes in, a high kick on the last was snaffled by Miller who released Cameron Smith to go over, under pressure from two

Wire players, to grab a brace. An extensive video referee check determined that after a short struggle he had managed to successfully ground the ball.

The floodgates were well and truly opened when just two minutes later Leeds broke down the left through the dangerous combination of Ash Handley and Riley Lumb before Miller was brought down. 
From the restart, Brodie Croft was found, and he showed good pace from a standing start to manoeuvre his way through the wire backline. Another successful conversion from Connor stretched the lead to 20 without reply.

The reply did come from Warrington shortly after; however it would turn out to be little more than a consolation for Wire. Fast interplay down the left-hand side saw Fitzgibbon find Josh Thewlis and a cool drop of the shoulder allowed him to turn inside the Leeds defence and go over.

It was respite that Warrington did not enjoy much of in the second half and just two minutes later Leeds hit back with another try. A great short pass from Connor released Tom Holroyd who stumbled over. Connor converted another close kick to compound Warrington’s misery.

Connor was unstoppable for much of the match, combining a stellar kicking display with his trademark creativity. He got his just rewards in the sixty-first minute, battling through the wire defence to touch down. He was unable to convert the kick on this occasion, however.

Leeds thought they had a sixth try when Riley Lumb went over on the left hand side, but yet another video review showed that Thewlis had managed to dislodge the ball just before Lumb could ground it.

Poor defending from Leeds allowed Warrington to manage another try and make the scoreline perhaps less flattering for the Rhinos than it should have been. Ben Currie broke through multiple attempted tackles to go over with six minutes left to play.

Leeds weren’t done there, however, with Morgan Gannon taking advantage of similarly weak defending from Warrington to burst through. Kallum Watkins stood in for the kick, marking his 400th career appearance with a conversion on the final hooter.

Overall, it was a convincing win for Leeds, swatting away a beleaguered Warrington to register their first five-match winning streak since 2002.

1. Lachie Miller, 5. Ryan Hall, 3. Harry Newman, 4. Ash Handley, 23. Riley Lumb, 18. Jake Connor, 6. Brodie Croft, 10. Keenan Palasia, 14. Jarrod O’Connor, 8. Mikolaj Oledzki, 12. James McDonnell, 16. Morgan Gannon, 28. Kallum Watkins
Subs: 19. Tom Holroyd, 15. Sam Lisone, 11. James Bentley, 13. Cameron Smith

Tries: Smith (2), Croft, Holroyd, Connor, Lisone
Goals: Connor (4), Watkins
Penalties: Connor

1. Josh Thewlis, 33. Arron Lindop, 4. Rodrick Tai, 3. Toby King, 20. Connor Wrench, 6. George Williams, 35. Marc Sneyd, 13. Luke Yates, 14. Sam Powell, 10. Paul Vaughan, 12. Lachlan Fitzgibbon, 21. Adam Holroyd, 11. Ben Currie
Subs: 8. James Harrison, 17. Jordy Crowther, 15. Joe Philbin, 24. Max Wood

Tries: Thewlis, Currie
Conversions: Sneyd (2)