Leeds Rhinos 32 Castleford Tigers 4

Leeds Rhinos brought a two-match losing streak to an abrupt end as they dismantled Castleford Tigers in a commanding 32-4 win in front of an AMT Headingley crowd.

Rhyse Martin’s two tries saw man of the match lead the scoring for Rohan Smith’s side, plus Ash Handley, Matt Frawley and Brodie Croft also added tries to topple their local rivals.

Rohan Smith has made a few changes to his side for the visit of the Tigers. Alfie Edgell and Paul Momirovski recovered from injury to ensure their names were in the starting 13 and partnered on the left flank. Matty Russell was ruled out through the concussion protocol and Luis Roberts was named 18th man in their place. Two changes to the forward group saw France internationals Justin Sangare and Mickael Goudemand swap places, Goudemand started alongside Mikolaj Oledzki and Corey Johnson came off the bench for his second appearance of the season in place of Andy Ackers.

A bright start from the Rhinos almost saw them score in the first five minutes through skipper Cameron Smith. A high bomb from Matt Frawley appeared to slip out of Jason Qareqare’s grasp and into the path of Smith, who landed. After review by the video referee, Harry Newman was adjudged to have put a hand to the ball to force it out of Qareqare, so the try was disallowed.

It was only a matter of time for the Rhinos though, off the back of a through ball from Tigers winger Innes Senior, Ash Handley finished off a well-designed scrum in the corner to make it 6-0 after 11 minutes.

Keeping the pressure on a Cas side that never settled in the first half, Rhinos added a second try through Brodie Croft. Pinning the Tigers down on their own tryline once again after poor discipline from the visitors, Croft showed great footwork to cut inside Liam Horne and land under the posts for his second try in successive home games .

The chances kept coming as the Tigers struggled to hang on to the Rhinos’ coat tails. Smith went close again as the skipper bounced off attempted tackles before being brought short. Following the try, a midfield switch looked set to deliver more points for Leeds, but Mikolaj Oledzki couldn’t hold James McDonnell’s offload.

Before the half expired the Rhinos added two more points to their tally as Rhyse Martin wisely elected to kick a penalty goal when Justin Sangare was dispossessed by Joe Westerman. The PNG international was good in front of the posts, making it 14-0 at the break.

Leeds did not wait at the start of the second half as within two minutes Matt Frawley found his way over the try line to score his first try since the win against Leigh.

The half quickly turned into a try assist as he fed Martin with a direct short pass for the back-row to get his first of the afternoon; he also added the conversion to make it 26-0 with 30 minutes to go.

As the atmosphere and conditions continued to heat up, Castleford got a consolation effort through Elie El-Zakhem, who finished off a big move to ensure the visitors didn’t go away goalless.

Rhinos were quick to respond again as Martin added his second of the game to give Leeds the league points. From a scrum in the Castleford 40, Smith and Croft showed excellent handling to move the ball upfield and Croft found Martin charging his pass for the Leeds man to run in behind to beat him on Tex Hoy and score under the posts. Adding his 20^th point of the game, Martin hit home the conversion to give Leeds two vital points in the league table.

For the second time in 2024, Leeds Rhinos head to the MKM Stadium to take on Hull FC in Round Fourteen of the Betfred Super League, kick-off at 3pm.

Rohan Smith’s side won 18-12 at the end of April, thanks to two tries from Riley Lumb on debut, and go into this week’s competition on the back of a win against Castleford at home, while Hull FC look to end the defeat. run that stretches back to the fourth round.

Rhinoceros

1. Lachie Miller, 29. Alfie Edgell, 4. Paul Momirovski, 3. Harry Newman, 5. Ash Handley, 6. Brodie Croft, 7. Matt Frawley, 8. Mikolaj Oledzki, 14. Jarrod O’Connor, 18. Mickael Goudemand, 16. James McDonnell, 12. Rhyse Martin, 13. Cameron Smith

Subs: 17. Justin Sangare, 15. Sam Lisone, 26. Corey Johnson, 30. Tom Nicholson-Watton (18^th Male – 24. Luis Roberts)

Tries: Handley (11), Croft (23), Frawley (43), Martin (47, 70)

Goals: Martin 6/6

The tigers

34. Tex Hoy, 23. Jason Qareqare, 35. Corey Hall, 4. Sam Wood, 5. Innes Senior, 16. Rowan Milnes, 7. Jacob Miller, 15. George Griffin, 14. Liam Horne, 19. Sam Hall, 11. Elie El-Zakhem, 12. Alex Mellor, 13. Joe Westerman

Subs: 8. Liam Watts, 17. Nixon Putt, 21. Sylvester Namo, 29. George Hill (18^th Male – 29 George Hill)

Attempts: El-Zakhem (64)

Goals: Milnes 0/1