Leeds Rhinos secured a commanding victory over Bradford Bulls with a score of 42-12 at Headingley on Sunday, moving two points clear at the top of the Super League table. The win saw the Rhinos register seven tries in the contest, with James McDonnell scoring twice on his 100th Super League appearance. Additional tries came from Jarrod O’Connor, Tom Holroyd, Brodie Croft, Cooper Jenkins, and Kallum Watkins, while Jake Connor converted all seven attempts. The victory provided Leeds a bounce-back result following a narrow 36-34 defeat to Castleford in the previous week.
The match was overshadowed by a significant injury to Leeds’ Fijian winger Maika Sivo, who sustained a suspected broken arm while making a tackle. According to Rhinos coach Brad Arthur, the 32-year-old will require surgical plating of his forearm and faces approximately six weeks on the sidelines. Sivo’s injury carries particular significance given his exceptional season, during which he has accumulated 29 tries. The former Parramatta Eels player was pursuing the Super League record for tries in a single season, which stands at 40, set by Castleford’s Denny Solomona in 2016. Arthur indicated that Sivo is expected to return before the conclusion of the regular season.
Bradford, playing their sixth match in seven outings, struggled throughout the contest despite an early breakthrough. Guy Armitage scored from a Chris Atkin kick to give Bradford an initial advantage, but Leeds responded through McDonnell. The Rhinos extended their lead to 18-6 by halftime following a second McDonnell try and a try from O’Connor. Bradford managed to add a second try after the interval when Ethan Ryan collected a high ball and combined with Atkin, but Leeds reasserted control with additional tries from Holroyd and others to close out the dominant performance.
Following this round, Leeds Rhinos occupy the top position with 32 points from 20 games, two ahead of both Wakefield Trinity and Wigan Warriors. Bradford Bulls remain in 12th place on 12 points, sitting two points above Hull FC and six points ahead of bottom-placed Huddersfield Giants.
Article Attribution | Read More at Article Source
Article summary produced by Claude AI