Leeds Rhinos dominate

Leeds Rhinos demolished York Knights 66-16 at LNER Community Stadium on Saturday, scoring 12 tries and 36 points. The Rhinos’ 66 points lifted them to the top of the Super League table, ahead of Wigan Warriors on points difference. The scoreline was the biggest defeat for York in the competition and the biggest win for Leeds in the season.

Lumb's hat-trick

Riley Lumb opened the scoring with a quickfire double, the first from Hall’s interception and the second after beating Jon Bennison. Lumb finished the match with a hat-trick, adding a third try in the second half. Chris Hankinson also contributed two tries, while Kallum Watkins, Mikolaj Oledzki, Lachie Miller, Matthew Lodge, Ryan Hall, Brodie Croft, Ash Handley and Hankinson added the remaining nine tries.

York Knights' response

York managed to score 16 points through a trio of tries: Sam Wood, Jon Bennison and David Nofoaluma. Bennison also kicked two goals for York, while Connor, Hankinson and Miller scored four goals each for Leeds. Despite the heavy defeat, York’s players showed resilience, with Wood’s late try and Bennison’s two conversions offering a small consolation.

Coaches' comments

Leeds head coach Brad Arthur said, “We didn’t come here expecting to score 66 points so I’m pretty happy with that. We improved on some things we had to get right from last week. We’ve worked hard to get back to top of table, we’ve got to work even harder to stay there and the boys are not shying away from that.” York Knights coach Mark Applegarth was disappointed, stating, “I knew that we had to be on today to get a result and Leeds had to be slightly disjointed, but unfortunately for us the roles were reversed. We need composure and ruck control against big teams to improve the scoreline we experienced today.”

The match featured a full roster for both teams. Leeds’ lineup included Miller, Hall, Newman, Handley (c), Lumb, Croft, Connor, Oledzki, O'Connor, Jenkins, Watkins, Hankinson, Cassell, with interchanges Smith, Lodge, Lloyd, Holroyd, McCormack. York’s squad comprised Mata'afa, Bennison, Galeano, Wood, Nofoaluma, McShane, Hunter, Martin, Inman, Va'a, Dee (c), Field, Hingano, with interchanges Doyle, Thompson, Sangare, Balmforth, Foster. Referee Liam Moore oversaw the game.