Leeds Rhinos finally ended their decade-long wait for a home victory over their great rivals St Helens to solidify their position at the Super League summit. Incredibly, Leeds had lost nine consecutive home games against the Saints dating back to 2017, including a dramatic playoff clash last year when St Helens snatched victory with a late try.
Match Summary
This was not necessarily the highest-quality game between two teams with a collective 18 Super League titles, but it was certainly thrilling and not decided until the final moments. Maika Sivo scored his 20th league try of the campaign before the outstanding Jake Connor nervelessly converted from the sideline to open up a two-score lead. Connor was once again the undisputed star here, criminally overlooked for England in last year's Ashes series. The odds of him featuring in this year's World Cup must be shortening by the week, with his latest performance hugely influential in everything Leeds, who are now two points clear at the top, did well.
First Half Action
The Saints knew extending their incredible winning run at Headingley would have seen them usurp Leeds at the top, and they may well look back on this as a missed opportunity. They were not at their best but had enough moments of promise to arguably put away a Leeds side somewhat below their best. The Rhinos took an early lead with a penalty from the boot of Connor, but the visitors responded magnificently. A piercing break from Daryl Clark was finished by Alex Walmsley, but what followed was an intense period of pressure from the hosts that you felt simply had to yield points at some stage.
That moment arrived as the half-hour mark approached. Leeds had spurned numerous chances prior to finally breaching the St Helens line, but it was Connor who was hugely influential as his clever pass sent Chris Hankinson through against the grain to give the half-back a simple conversion and move the Rhinos back in front. It was easy to wonder if the amount of defensive work the Saints had gone through to that point would sting them as half-time approached, but instead, they rallied superbly to score back-to-back tries and take the lead going into the break. First, George Whitby and Jonny Lomax combined to great effect to send Kyle Feldt over in the corner before a wonderful kick from Jack Welsby was grounded by Tristan Sailor. In the blink of an eye, Leeds' slender two-point lead had been erased with the visitors ahead by eight at the interval.
Second Half Comeback
But just as the Saints were flawless in the final 10 minutes of the first half, Leeds were equally brilliant at the start of the second. Another spell of pressure from the hosts led to points almost immediately as Brodie Croft's perfect pass sent Harry Newman over, before a penalty from the boot of Connor two minutes later levelled matters at 16-16. Even with half an hour remaining, it was evident that two of Super League's all-time great clubs were going to go the distance yet again. However, the crucial moment arrived with seven minutes left. David Klemmer was sin-binned for an off-ball tackle on Chris Hankinson, and from that, Connor kicked another penalty to nudge Leeds back in front.
Decisive Moment
And when Leeds were given an opportunity to decisively end matters once and for all, Connor stepped up. His cut-out pass was inch-perfect and gave Sivo a free run to the corner. Connor then kicked the conversion with minimal fuss to ensure it would be Leeds, not the Saints, who finished the night top of the league.
