Tries from Trent Merrin, Jack Walker and Rob Lui helped seal a well deserved victory for Leeds Rhinos at Castleford Tigers.

Leeds had the better of the early territory but were unable to find a way through some tight Castleford defence.

The Tigers were prowling for any opportunities and they thought they had scored early on when Greg Eden intercepted Rob Lui’s wide pass before racing 70 metres up field however the video referee pulled play back for a knock on by Mike McMeeken in the build up to the break.

On the opposite wing James Clare thought he was away when he picked up a spilled pass but Ash Handley tracked his man back and hauled him down 40 metres. However, that started a long spell of pressure from Daryl Powell’s side on the Leeds line as they had four repeat sets through a combination of drop outs, penalties and knock downs. However, the Rhinos stood firm and eventually got their reward with a knock on by the Tigers.

The opening try of the game came after twenty minutes when Adam Cuthbertson continued his impressive form from the previous weeks win over Catalans with a barnstorming run through the Tigers defence. Two tackles later he popped up in possession again and offloaded to Trent Merrin in support for the captain to go over between the posts. Liam Sutcliffe added the conversion to make it 6-0.

Leeds had to withstand another wave of pressure from the home side in the final stages of the first half but they held on again to go into the break with a narrow lead.

The first try in the second half always looked like it would be important and it was the Rhinos who doubled their lead when Tom Briscoe broke through in his own half before passing to Jack Walker. The full back, who was only cleared to play on the day of the game, raced onto the chance before beating Paul McShane to score between the posts. Sutcliffe was on target with the conversion and then added a penalty to stretch the lead to 14-0.

Castleford crossed for their first try with less than 20 minutes to go despite appeals for a forward last pass and James Clare touched down in the corner.

The winger then doubled his account after quick hands along the back line and Jordan Rankin’s conversion gave the home side hope at 14-10.

However, Rob Lui celebrated his 200th career appearance with the winning try in the final minutes. Sutcliffe was unable to add the conversion but the Rhinos were good value for their victory.