Leeds Rhinos cruise to comprehensive 66-16 win over York
Riley Lumb scored three tries and Chris Hankinson added two of his own as well as four conversions as the Rhinos responded instantly to Wigan moving above them on Friday night.
Leeds returned to the top of Super League after cruising to a comprehensive 66-16 victory over York Knights at the LNER Community Stadium.
Riley Lumb scored three tries and Chris Hankinson added two of his own as well as four conversions as the Rhinos responded instantly to Wigan moving above them on Friday night.
Kallum Watkins, Mikolaj Oledzki, Lachie Miller, Matt Lodge, Ryan Hall, Brodie Croft and Ash Handley were Leeds’ other try-scorers, while Jake Connor added another quartet of conversions and Miller one.
Sam Wood, Jon Bennison – who also converted two tries – and David Nofoaluma ensured York would not be shut out.
Lumb had to wait for a review after dotting down in the corner, but his seventh-minute opening try was ultimately confirmed before he acrobatically added his second five minutes later.
Rhinos had taken a 36-0 lead by half-time thanks to Hankinson’s first – teed up by Lumb – three minutes later, before Watkins got in on the action, Oledzki added a close-range try and Miller got on the end of Cameron Smith’s excellent pass.
Lodge scored his debut try two minutes after the break before Wood finally put points on the board for York. However, Rhinos quickly hit back through Hall ahead of Lumb completing his hat-trick.
Lumb touched down for a fourth time four minutes after the hour as Rhinos kept piling on the points, ensuring two more York tries through Bennison and Nofoaluma counted for little.
Leeds head coach Brad Arthur told a press conference: “We didn’t come here expecting to score 66 points so I’m pretty happy with that. I thought we started with a really good intensity level and I thought our mentality was really, really good.”
Asked about reclaiming the top spot, he replied: “We’ve worked hard to get there and we’ve got to work even harder to stay there, and the boys are not shying away from that, and we know that, but we’d much rather be in our position.”
York head coach Mark Applegarth said he was “very disappointed” by the result, adding: “I’ve got a group in there that cares, and knowing them there will be some pretty ruthless lessons that we’re learning along the way.
“It was a really simple message at half-time. If there’s one thing I will never stomach in life, it’s quitting, and I expect that to be the same as everyone else. I said, ‘We’ll never quit, and I don’t expect to see anyone quit’ and I’ve got to give credit there, it could have gotten a lot uglier than it already was.”