If Round Ten of Super League had a ‘home banker’ then it must be the home game for the Leeds Rhinos against a London Broncos side who have been unable to register a win all season and who are currently shipping in average in excess of thirty-eight points a game while scoring less than ten.

A big win for the Rhinos could see them into the top half of the table and would serve as some respite for their coach under fire, Rohan Smith, and the bookies were giving the visitors a twenty-eight-point start on the handicap coupon.

Should London grab a win, against all the odds, then the end of the evening could see them in eleventh place in the table should Hull FC sustain a heavy loss against the Warrington Wolves.

After a round nine packed with shock outcomes in favour of the underdogs, the confusion in the final fixture of the weekend was to understand whether a Hull FC side who had only won once in the 2024 season, or a Leeds Rhinos side who seem adept at engineering defeats when wins look the most likely outcome, were the real underdogs.

Hull FC gave debuts to new signing Ed Chamberlain and Yusuf Aydin while the Rhinos gave a debut to the nineteen your old Riley Lumb his debut on the wing in place of David Fusitu’a.

The bookies chose Hull FC as the underdogs, handicapping the Rhinos by fourteen points on the coupon and in the week of upsets suggested that it was a cast iron win for the Airlie Birds but a win for neither side would likely improve their current league positions.

Eighth placed Leeds Rhinos hosted Sixth placed Huddersfield Giants in a Round Eight encounter at Headingley as both sides looked to keep pace with the top of the table and avoid slipping further behind in the race for the spoils in 2024.

The bookies were going for a home win, but only just, as they gave the Rhinos a two-point handicap on the coupon with no-one suggesting that the Rhinos would rampage to the 54-0 scoreline that they registered the last time that the two sides met at Headingley in June 2023.

The Giants came into the game on the back of that massive Challenge Cup win over the Catalans Dragons last weekend, the Rhinos on the back of just one win in their last four outings.

When the just two points cover the top seven teams in the competition then many games become top of the table clashes and a Friday night encounter between the Leeds Rhinos and Warrington Wolves at Headingley Stadium was one such occasion.

A big win for the Wolves, by a margin of more than twenty points, would see them back to the top of the table and while victory for the Rhinos would see them level with at least three other teams on points, they would need an unachievable winning margin of at least ninety-one points to overtake Wigan on points difference.

The bookies made the home side slight favourites for the win and handicapped them by four points on the coupon, it promised to be a close match between two sides who are still seeking some 2024 consistency.

The ‘Rivals’ Round of Super League 2024 threw together the Castleford Tigers and the Leeds Rhinos to renew old rivalries and fight for the all-important two points as the opening fixture of the Easter weekend got underway on Thursday night at Wheldon Road.

A first win of the season Castleford, and by a margin of fifteen or more points, would lift them above Hull FC and into tenth place in the table, while a victory for the Rhinos would see them above the other Hull club, Kingston Rovers, and into fifth spot, with a massive points win potentially putting them higher.

The home side had a fourteen-point start on the coupon, the bookies predicting that the Tigers awful start to the season would continue for at least another week.

St Helens were strong 18-8 winners over the Leeds Rhinos when tonight’s Challenge Cup hopefuls met in a regular round Super League encounter last weekend, and the bookies made the visitors slight favourites again by giving the Rhinos a two-point start on the handicap coupon.

The Rhinos had Paul Momirovski back in the centres alongside Rhyse Martin while Saints had Waqa Blake in the centres and Moses Mbye at scrum half for Lewis Dodd, and Curtis Sironen back in the starting line-up with Batchelor on the bench.

A place in the quarter finals was up for grabs and on paper there was little to choose between the two sides.

Despite home advantage, the Leeds Rhinos were given a four-point start on the handicap coupon as they took on the reigning Champions St Helens at Headingley Stadium in the sole Friday evening game in Super League XXIX.

Saints already had second place and knew that a win in excess of twenty-two points would see them above arch-rivals Wigan Warriors into top spot, the Rhinos knew that a win would lift them to second spot in the table overnight.

Saints were without the suspended Mark Percival after last week’s sending off and lost Tommy Makinson in the warm-up while Leeds had ex-Saint James Bentley back in their side after his suspension.

This was the first of two encounters between the two sides in two weeks.

Leigh Leopards were still seeking their first win of the season as they entered the fourth round of Super League XXIX with a game against a Leeds Rhinos side with their eyes on the top half of the table after a great win against the Catalans Dragons last time out.

The Rhinos were slight favourites with the bookies, but many pundits thought that it was too close to call with Leigh only getting a two-point start on the handicap coupon.

It was another week and another suspension for the Rhinos with James Bentley missing, but they did welcome back Mikolaj Oledzki, Leigh also made changes including the return of Tom Amone after a suspension, but they were still without John Asiata.

The Rhinos came into their third-round clash without the services of the injured Mikolaj Oledzki and the suspended James Donaldson and Sam Lisone as the Catalans Dragons were in Leeds looking for their third consecutive win at the start of the season.

A win by thirty-two points or more would lift the Dragons to the top of the table but a win for the Rhinos by twenty-three or more points would lift them above the visitors today and keep them in touch with the top of the table despite last weeks loss at Hull KR.

The bookies had made the Rhinos slight favourites for the win with a two-point handicap on the coupon but there was very little to choose between the two sides.

After a perfect start to the season, humiliating their arch enemies from across the city, Hull Kingston Rovers welcomed the Leeds Rhinos to Craven Park for the opening match of round two of Super League XXIX, hoping for another clean sheet but happy to settle for a win and the important two points.

The only change to the starting thirteen for the home side was the promotion of George King and the selection of Corey Hall to the bench in place of Matt Parcell (suspended) while Leeds had Justin Sangare in for Oledzki (shoulder), Bentley stepping off the bench into the starting line-up in place of Donaldson and Alfie Edgell for Lachlan Miller who was taken ill on the coach.

The home side were the favourites for the win, the Rhinos given a six-point start on the handicap coupon as the bookies believed that Mikey Lewis would again turn on the style and the Rhinos would struggle on the road.

The vagaries of the fixture computer threw together Leeds Rhinos and the Salford Red Devils with Paul Rowley’s side having to face their two key play makers of 2023 in the colours of their opponents, with Brodie Croft and Andy Ackers making their Rhinos debuts.

It was a new look Rhinos side with several arrivals, and departures, over the close season and Salford had to look to build again in 2024 after losing a few of their key players over the winter.

The visitors were given a big ten-point start on the handicap coupon with the bookies and pundits alike giving them little chance of a first round win, but that’s exactly the odds that the Red Devils like and Rohan Smith will have warned his charges about complacency as his Leeds side look to live up to pre-season expectations.

The traditional Boxing Day Wetherby Whaler Festive Challenge took place this lunchtime at Headingley Stadium as the Leeds Rhinos faced a Wakefield Trinity side who are under the new management of Daryl Powell as he plots them a route back into Super League after last season’s relegation.

Both coaches named a mixture of youth and experience as fans from both clubs turned up in good numbers looking to blow away the Christmas cobwebs and give their lungs an outing after yesterday’s festivities.

While these matches count for little in the whole scheme of pre-season both side’s supporters hoped that their side would secure bragging rights.

Leeds Rhinos made their way across the Pennines looking for their fourth consecutive Women’s Super League Grand Final appearance as they looked to defend their title but they knew that they had a monumental challenge in their way as they took on a St Helens side who finished a place above them at the end of the regular season.

A Grand Final place against the York Valkyrie at the LNER Community Stadium on the 8th of October was up for grabs and the Rhinos were slight favourites after they won the round nine encounter three weeks ago by 34-22 while the sought further revenge for the defeat to Saints in the Challenge Cup Final.

Saints had never beaten the Rhinos at the Totally Wicked Stadium but were confident that today would be the day.

After Wigan and St Helens secured round twenty-six wins last night, the Catalans Dragons knew that they needed a home win, and a large one at that, to keep their hopes of a minor premiership alive as they took on the Leeds Rhinos who needed the win to maintain the slimmest of hopes that they could make the 2023 play-offs.

A win of any description would put the Dragons into second spot, while they needed an unlikely win by one hundred and twenty-nine points or more to regain top spot.

A win for the Rhinos would keep their season alive, at least for a couple of hours until Hull KR took on the Salford Red Devils in the evening kick-off.

There was no doubting that the Dragons were strong favourites, the Rhinos likely to see an end to their 2023 hopes after the most inconsistent of seasons.

The Wigan Warriors were looking for a return to the top of the table and knew that a win of any veriety would achieve that due to their superior points difference over the other two minor premiership hopefuls, the Catalans Dragons and arch-rivals St Helens.

The Rhinos came into the game in the full knowledge that a defeat, while not mathematically ending their hopes of a play-off place, would effectively do so, and snuff out the final light on a very disappointing season.

The bookies had the visitors as strong favourites for the win and gave the Rhinos an eight-point start on the handicap coupon; the scene was set for it to be a miserable Saturday afternoon for the Headingley Southstand faithful.

While the losers of Saturday afternoon’s clash between Hull FC and the Leeds Rhinos were not mathematically out of the race for the top six, and a play off place, the likelihood was that any practical chance that the loser would have of making the end of season knock out games would be highly unlikely.

Both sides came into the game on twenty points, four behind the play off place currently occupied by the Warrington Wolves who had a simultaneous kick-off in a home banker against the Castleford Tigers.

A Wolves win would see today’s losers needing to win all three of their remaining games while hoping that those around them did them a series of big favours.

In reality, this was just a dead rubber, but Hull FC were the favourites with the bookies to take the two points and further their fans agony for another make or break weekend.

A Sunday afternoon clash at the John Smith’s Stadium saw the Huddersfield Giants looking for a crucial two points to keep their slim hopes of a play off place alive as they faced a hot and cold a Leeds Rhinos side who themselves are looking increasingly unlikely to make the top six.

The bookies were struggling to make a call on the likely winners as both sides sat at the bar and were poured a drink in the last chance saloon.

A good following from Leeds packed into the away end to give their side a lift.

Each game was becoming a must win for most sides in Super League as we approach the end of the 2023 season, none more so than the Leeds Rhinos and Warrington Wolves, the Rhinos to keep alive their hopes of a play-off position and the Wolves to try and revitalise a season which has been in freefall after a fabulous start.

The Rhinos had their eye on eighth spot, the Wolves on consolidating their fifth place in the race for the playoffs but it was anyone´s game as both sides came into the encounter on the back of poor runs of form.

The sun was out at Emerald Headingley as a decent Sunday afternoon crowd gathered.

Leigh haven’t won at Headingley for thirty-nine years but sitting in second spot in the table, they sent a full-strength side over the Pennines, despite being within a week of a Challenge Cup Final appearance, optimistic for the win as they took on new look Leeds Rhinos side who will now have to see out the season without the game controlling Blake Austin who was released to the Castleford Tigers during the week.

Leeds had been made the favourites by the bookies, the Leopards getting a four-point start on the coupon, as those with a betting mind thought that the lure of a cup final berth would activate the ‘cup self-preservation’ mode amongst their leading players.

The loss would hurt the Rhinos much more than it would Leigh.

There was nothing to choose between these two sides in 2023, the aggregate over the two games played so far being 37-37 as Leeds Rhinos travelled to the Totally Wicked Stadium to take on St Helens.

It was a weakened Saints side who had been dominating the headlines during the week after the injuries that they picked up in losing their semi-final against the Leigh Leopards against a Rhinos side who needed the win to keep alive their hopes of a play-off place in seven rounds time.

Saints were slight favourites but there was every chance that this would be a classic between two sides who had been almost inseparable throughout the season.