When you looked at the Rhinos start to the season you would have been forgiven for thinking that the fixture computer had been kind to the Rhinos. A start at the Crusaders, simple home win over the Tigers and then a trip to the ground where we haven't lost in Superleague for another two points before welcoming basement side Salford Reds to Headingley for a home banker the week before the World Club Challenge.

Well...the wheels are well and truly off the Champions wagon today following another rugby lesson from a hungry Wakefield who end week two sat at the top of the table.

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As expected it was Pitts and Burgess who missed out on the seventeen which heralded a return for Leuluai and Kirke. Despite Delaney and Ablett being absent through injury the seventeen looked strong enough to show Wakefield a game and with a bench of Diskin, Kirke, Ali and Bailey you would have thought that we had adequate cover. Last year we scraped a last gasp win, this year we all travelled hoping for something more convincing, but found something far more uncomfortable.

From the outset it was clear that the Wildcats were going to take the game to us and they showed dominance early on. It took nine minutes for the home side to open the scoring, attacking the Benidorm flats, when Brough and Jeffries both made breaks and offloads ultimately benefitting Gleeson who crossed to score. Brough added the extras for 0-6.

On seventeen Obst should have scored but dropped the ball, untackled, over the Leeds line and on twenty-three Senior made a superb last ditch tackle to put Morton into touch with the try line begging. Leeds were being hammered, it was a carbon copy of last weeks second half.

On twenty-eight Brough goaled a penalty after Leeds were penalised on their own ten metres for 0-8 and another penalty conceeded on thirty-four allowed Jeffries to run the angle and score in the corner. Brough failed with the conversion but we were heading towards half-time trailing 0-12.

Leeds Opener

Then, eighty-one competitive minutes after our last score, and just a minute before half-time, Sinfield and JJB combined to feed McGuire who went under the sticks for the Rhinos opener. Sinfield landed the goal for 6-12 but it wasn't the last action of the half. As the hooter warmed up Diskin was judged to have held down on the Rhinos twenty and Brough took the option of another two points to extend the margin to eight points as the sides trudged into the sheds.

Leeds had picked up where they left off last week, second best to a side they should be dispatching with ease.

There was, to be honest, little hope for improvement in the second half, this looks like a Leeds side bereft of ideas and the hunger that has driven us to greatness in the last three seasons.

Wakefield got the best of second half starts thanks to a wayward McGuire pass in the 'Cats red zone combined witha keen Brough coming out of the line to intercept and go 90m outpacing Ryan Hall to score. Brough added the extras himself for 6-20. On fifty-two the Leeds skipper saw yellow from Childs as the rookie Superleague referee ran out of patience. He ruled that Sinny raked the ball free when from where I was stood it looked more like a loose carry. With the captain in the bin the 'Cats benefitted from a high kick which was caught by Millard under very little pressure from Donald to score. Brough goaled for 6-26 and it was looking like that would be it.

Brace

On the hour mark Leeds got some reward for moving the ball around as Donald crossed off a McGuire pass. Burrow, in Sinfields absence, kicked the extras for 12-26.

Leeds were also the next to score on sixty-eight when keeping the ball alive on the last it finally found Donald who managed to squeeze it down despite the attention of three defenders. Sinfield goaled well from the touchline for 18-26 and with ten minutes left there was a glimmer of hope.

But the home side bucked down and closed the game out, kicking a penalty on seventy-five after further Leeds indiscipline. The clock ran out with the home side getting the rarest of home wins over the Rhinos with a 18-26 scoreline that sees the Wildcats back on top of the table.

Once again we didn't deserve to win the game and were outplayed for long periods. A purple patch in the second half saw us get a couple of tries on the board but it was simply not enough. Last week could be put down as a blip but this could be more serious. Have we grown fat on three years of success? Have we lost the hunger to succeed? Only the lads can answer this, but they'd better get on with it before the 2010 season gets away from us.

Coupe of final things. Eastwood looked the real deal today in his spells on the pitch, but these were far too short for a second rower. And I could mention the referee...but I won't!