Torrential rain welcomed the Catalans Dragons to Headingley where they took on a Leeds Rhinos side which sported the best of the Leeds junior ranks with a smattering of first teamers as coach Agar kept his stars rested ahead of Saturdays Challenge Cup final.

The Rhinos had climbed to second as a result of yesterdays losses for Wigan and Warrington but any result tonight would drop the Rhinos to fourth and bolster the Dragons challenge for a top four spot and the play-offs.

Neither the bookies nor the pundits gave the Rhinos any chance of a win.

Six days after the Leeds Rhinos demolished Hull KR in the quarter finals of the Challenge Cup, the two sides met again at the Halliwell Jones Stadium in Warrington for a highly unusual Thursday afternoon fixture.

The Rhinos were looking to cement their fourth spot, and edge a little closer to the top three, in the new format league table.

The Rhinos were strong favourites after last weekends results with Hull KR having been given a fourteen-point start on the coupon.

Hull KR coach Tony Smith made eleven changes to his side ahead of todays clash as they looked to turn things around, Rhinos coach Agar also made changes as he rested a few players ahead of a busy upcoming schedule of games.

Leeds Rhinos marched into the Coral Challenge Cup semi with a comprehensive 48-28 defeat of Hull Kingston Rovers in the second of tonight’s quarter finals at St Helens’ Totally Wicked Stadium

 

Leeds opened the scoring when Ava Seumanufgai charged onto a short pass from the dummy half just by the posts, just five minutes in.

Rhys Martin’s conversion gave the Rhinos a 6-0 lead.

 

They doubled the score three minutes later when Luke Gale broke through the Robins’ line and passed to Ash Handley who dotted down 10m in from the sideline.

Martin kicked the goal and the score was 12-0 in Leeds’s favour with less than 10 minutes gone.

 

Leeds Rhinos were dealt a late blow with the omission of seven players in a covid related issue.

The late changes, and team disruption could galvanise the squad, or could play into the hands of a Giants side looking to avenge the Golden Point defeat which they suffered at Leeds hands in the opening round of the post-lockdown return.

A win for the Giants would see them up to sixth in the table, snapping at the Rhinos heels.

A win for Leeds would make no difference to their league position but would put them in prime position to launch at attack on a top four finish.

The Salford Red Devils find themselves at the wrong end of the early 2020 table as they sit off the pace on ninth spot, but they came up against a Leeds Rhinos side who were low on confidence after two successive big losses at the hands of Wigan and St Helens.

There was little to choose between the two sides, the bookies giving the Red Devils a two point start on the coupon and only slightly favouring the sixth placed Rhinos who had their eyes on a top four spot.

The Rhinos beat the Red Devils by 22-8 before lockdown, despite Salford being 8-6 ahead at the interval, but that was now over five months ago.

The Warriors played their ‘Get Out of Jail Free’ card last week against Wakefield Trinity when they escaped with a one-point drop goal win.

Two hours later their opponents in the other Sunday Round Nine fixture, the Leeds Rhinos, took a beating at the hands of St Helens as they were nilled, humiliated and embarrassed.

Wigan knew that a win would put them two point clear at the top of the table but if the Rhinos could overcome the bookies odds and steal the points, then they could draw level with a congested top of the table on ten points.

Leeds gave a debut to new signing Bodene Thompson and welcomed back Konrad Hurrell.

Wigan were without the services of Thomas Leuluai, out with an ankle injury, and George Burgess who was serving a one game suspension.

There was no doubt that the most mouthwatering tie of the restart round, the eighth of Super League 2020, was the clash between the champions St Helens and the side who were sitting at the top of the table until the Wigan Warriors overtook them in this afternoon’s game.

Both sides have already got a game under their belts since the coronavirus lockdown, Saints scoring a comprehensive win over the Catalans Dragons while the Giants launched one of the all time finest comebacks to beat the Giants in Golden Point thanks to a Luke Gale Drop Goal.

Saints were big favourites with the bookies and the Rhinos had been given a ten point start on the handicap coupon.

A win of any description would take Leeds back top of the pile, Saints needed to win by more than twelve points to go ahead of Wigan on points difference and into top spot.

Despite being a rearranged home game for the Giants, delayed from round two, Huddersfield had to travel to Leeds to take on a Rhinos side with both sides having their eyes on the top of the table.

The second game of the Super League restart saw a West Yorkshire derby between two sides who made a great pre-lockdown start to the 2020 season and who would have hoped to have picked up where they left off in March.

A win for either side would lift them to the top of the table, but the nature of the game would tell us so much more about their prospects for the season.

Leeds marched to the top of Super League when they played host to Toronto Wolfpack – and did it with style, and some swagger.

Richie Myler filled in at fullback like a natural, while bringing a half’s ball playing awareness to role; Rhyse Martin notched up a 100% 11 out of 11 goals, all conversions; Luke Gale scored two tries, and had a hand in a number of others to record 1,500 career points in 300 games.

And Toronto? Well they came, they scored two tries and converted converted them,  but overall - and especially in defence – they looked too much like a Championship side playing a Super League team on fire.

It was fifth against sixth as the Leeds Rhinos took on the Warrington Wolves with both sides knowing that a win could lift them into second spot in an already competitive and congested table.

The Rhinos were rocked in midweek by the news that captain Stevie Ward had been stood don indefinitely after continuing to suffer from a concussion suffered in the opening week.

There was no place in Agars seventeen for loan signing Joe Greenwood.

But kicker Rhyse Martin was back in the side after missing the last two outings.

The Wolves welcomed back their skipper Chris Hill after he missed the last three through suspension but full back Matty Ashton was out with an injury picked up in the win over Toronto.

Neither Leeds Rhinos nor Hull FC will have greeted the announcement of the opening round of Super League with much delight.

The Rhinos have a great home record against Hull but know that Lee Radfords’ side are much fancied for an excellent 2020 season with a fericious looking pack after their closed season recruitment.

It was the second game of the Emerald Headingley double-header, and the home side were the favourites with the bookies, despite the terraces being bolstered with plenty of Castleford supporters who were lending their voice to the visitors.

Expectations were high for both sides with the Rhinos looking for a much better season than their last couple, while Hull FC were seeking the consistency that they lacked throughout the 2019 season.

With St Helens already crowned as minor premiers, and with the Challenge Cup final and Grand Final play-offs just around the corner, they could be forgiven for easing off the gas.

The Rhinos hoped that they could continue a two game winning run, which has lifted them out of the immediate danger of relegation.

Another win would see the Rhinos within a couple of points of safety and they also went into the game needing an eighteen points winning margin to get back to a positive points difference, worth an extra point in the bottom of the table shakedown.

The only change for the Rhinos was on the bench with Nathan Peteru brought in to replace the suspended Brad Singleton who was sent off against the Catalans Dragons last weekend and received a two game ban.

Saints have Morgan Knowles back but are without Alex Walmsley, Lachlan Coote and James Roby.

The Rhinos made just one change from the side which demolished the Huddersfield Giants last time out as they took on a Catalans Dragons who were paying the price for on-field indiscipline against the Warrington Wolves.

The Rhinos made one change with Luke Briscoe replacing his brother Tom on the wing after the later was ruled out for the rest of the season.

The Dragons were without the services of key players  Sam Tomkins and Michael McIlorum, both serving suspensions.

The Rhinos lost the early season game in the south of France bit won the last time the sides met at Headingley Stadium by a 31-12 margin.

A win would further ease the Rhinos relegation worries but a loss would put them right back in the mix.

The Dragons came into the game desperate for a win to maintain their top five aspirations.

Two sides, both deeply mired in the relegation battle, were pitted against one another at the John Smith’s Stadium as the Huddersfield Giants and Leeds Rhinos met in front of a bumper crowd with a crucial two points at stake.

The Giants were looking to consolidate their eighth place and get within four points of the play-off places.

Leeds Rhinos could leapfrog the Giants into eighth with an eight point winning margin, providing that Wakefield didn’t spring a surprise and beat St Helens.

A loss for the Rhinos could see them end the weekend in bottom place, should Hull KR and the London Broncos win their respective games.

It was a question of who wanted it the most.

It was the ladies time to shine as the Leeds Rhinos took on the Castleford Tigers in the Ladies Challenge Cup final from the University of Bolton Stadium in the eighth Challenge Cup Final, a repeat of the 2018 final which the Rhinos won by 20-14.

These two sides met in round three of the Womens Super League back in April with the Tigers winning by an impressive 27-0 and the Tigers are currently atop the league table with a one hundred percent record.

The Rhinos are fourth, having lost twice, including the last time out against St Helens.

The Rhinos squeezed past St Helens in the semi-finals by 16-10 while the Tigers thrashed Wakefield Trinity by 100-0.

Ninth placed Leeds Rhinos looked to make it to three consecutive victories as they welcomed eleventh placed Hull KR to Headingley with the visitors looking for the crucial victory which would lift them level on points with the Rhinos and two points above the London Broncos in the relegation spot.

Hull KR were victorious when the two sides met in early April by a 45-26 scoreline, but the Rhinos took the spoils three weeks later when they won 28-24 after being 28-0 ahead with just thirty minutes remaining.

Sean Lunt would make his second debut for the Rhinos after returning on loan from tonight’s opponents, while Brett Ferres and new signing Rhyse Martin swapped places.

It was a Hull KR side packed with, and coached by, ex-Rhinos including; Matt Parcell, Danny McGuire, Mitch Garbutt, Jimmy Keinhorst, and Weller Hauraki.

Castleford Tigers fans made their way to the Mend-A-Hose Jungle cheered by the news that coach Daryl Powell had today extended his contract until 2022, and hoped that he would celebrate by delivering a win against the old enemy from Headingley as the Leeds Rhinos swung into town.

Fresh on the back of a confidence boosting win over the Catalans Dragons, the Leeds Rhinos made just one starting change with Ava Seumanufagai returning from compassionate leave and replacing Mikolaj Oledski in the starting line-up for Richard Agar's side.

New Rhinos signing Rhyse Martin was named on the bench.

A win would lift the Rhinos back into the ninth spot which they lost to the Huddersfield last night, after the Giants won at Salford.

Greg Eden and Mitch Clark returned for the home side replacing  concussed Jake Trueman and Tuoyo Egodo as the Tigers looked to cement their place in the top four.

There were fewer more important games in Round Twenty than the Leeds Rhinos against the Catalans Dragons.

The Rhinos knew that a win would lift them off the foot of the table and possibly as high as ninth, whereas the Dragons are quickly slipping down the table after a four game losing streak.

An administrative mix-up meant that ex-skipper Kallum Watkins was unavailable for his farewell game while new signing from the mid-week swap-shop, Shaun Lunt was injured so all eyes were on Robert Lui as he pulled on the Rhinos stand-off jersey for the first time.

The Dragons had a long injury list with McIlorum, Bird, Gigot, Whitley, Baitieri, Edwards and Tierney not making the journey.

There was unlikley to be much finesse as both sides scrapped nervously for the points.

It was top against bottom as St Helens hosted the Leeds Rhinos, Richard Agars side arriving at the Totally Wicked Stadium on a hiding to nothing.

The bookies could only see one outcome, the continued relentless charge of the home side to the minor premiership.

Saints took a surprising loss to the London Broncos a fortnight ago out after resting several players for their trip south but they made amends with a big win against the Huddersfield Giants last weekend.

The Rhinos lost to the Warriors last weekend and are now desperate for the points after Londons win against Hull KR last night.

Both sides made a couple of changes to last weekends sides, Kallum Watkins named in the Leeds second row for his penultimate game before departing for Australia.

Another crucial basement battle for the Leeds Rhinos as they welcomed the old enemy, Wigan Warriors, to Headingley for a four pointer.

An unlikley twenty-seven point victory for the Rhinos would lift them above the Warriors into eighth, a twenty-four point win for the visitors would lift them to the dizzy heights of sixth, there was plenty to play for.

The Rhinos started with the same seventeen that nilled Wakefield last time out and made it back to back wins for the first time in 2019.

 Wigan scraped a scrappy one point win over Hull KR last week and came into the game without Zak Hardaker through injury and Taulima Tautai, who was in court today pleading guilty to a drink driving charge.

The Rhinos were slight favourites with the bookies, but on paper, there was little to choose between the two sides.