When Leeds Rhinos and Wigan Warriors met in round eleven at Headingley it was the Warriors who scraped a one point victory thanks to a forty metre Sam Tomkins drop goal in the seventy fifth minute.

After five consecutive Super League losses the Rhinos had become embroiled into the middle eights dogfight, and anything other than the two points could see them slip into the danger zone after a disappointing season.

Wigan had their own problems, and themselves have struggled since the announcement that coach Wane would be departing at the end of the season.

Still sitting second in the league a win would consolidate their league position as the split approaches.

Despite being one of the few sides to have put a speed bump into Saints relentless march to the 2018 minor premiership, few gave the Leeds Rhinos a snowball in hell’s chance of causing an upset and taking the two points as the sides met at Headingley.

An injury list resembling a ‘who’s who’ of Leeds rugby meant that they were missing key playmakers, free scorers and and experience across the park, giving a debut to Tom Holroyd against the best drilled and performing outfit in the league.

But Saints were in no mood to show any sympathy and went into the game hoping to rack up the points against a Leesd side who have thwarted their Grand Final ambitions on so many occasions in the past.

After claiming the scalp of the Salford Red Devils in the last round, the Leigh Centurions had their sights set firmly on the Leeds Rhinos as the two sides met in the quarter finals at Post Office Road in Featherstone due to the Headingley being unavailable due to the ongoing England test match against Pakistan.

The Rhinos had a number of stars returning to a side who well beaten in the south of France last weekend including old heads Carl Ablett and Anthony Mullally.

Leigh also lost last weekend, by the narrowest of margins, in an ill tempered game with the Toronoto Wolfpack.

The Rhinos were ironed on favourites, but the beauty of the cup is its unpredictability.

If there is a time you don’t want to travel to Perpignan to play the Dragons, it would be the round after you’ve been given a rugby league lesson by the Castleford Tigers and lost your skipper for the rest of the season.

The Dragons were on a cloud after beating the Red Devils in Newcastle last weekend and had their eyes on tenth spot, with a possibility of ninth with a big enough win.

The Rhinos took a makeshift side on the longest trip in the domestic game.

Jimmy Keinhorst, Brad Dwyer, Adam Cuthbertson and Brett Ferres were all named in the thirteen to replace Watkins, Parcell, Peteru, Ferres and Jones-Buchanan.

It was also a very youthful Rhinos bench.

The Catalans made just one change to their winning squad with Mikael Goudemand replacing Jason Baitieri on the bench.

The Warrington Wolves brought a seven game winning run to Headingley to take on a Leeds Rhinos side who have struggled to one win in their last three outings.

The Champions have struggled so far this season against a fair number of injuries and Coach McDermott has not been able to pick his first choice seventeen so far this season.

The Wolves are sitting pretty in third and a win over the Rhinos would put them five points clear of their opponents, who currently reside in fifth.

A Leeds win would see them into fourth, maintaining their push on a top four finish.

Brett Ferres swapped his bench with Mark Parcell while Josh Walters and Nathaniel Peteru came in for Delaney and Oledzki on the bench.

The Wolves brought Matt Cooper into their side after missing the last couple of games.

The Leeds Rhinos were back in Hull, the scene of their one-point defeat heatbreak last weekend, hoping to turn round a mini-dip in form against tenth placed Hull KR who needed the win to avoid being cut further adrift in the league table.

There were wholesale changes for the Robins after last weeks cup win over Oldham with Danny McGuire back in the side to face his previous employers for the first time on home soil.

  The Rhinos made just one change with Brad Singleton in for Cameron Smith with Brett Delaney moving to the bench as coach McDermott had his eyes on fifth spot after Hull FC’s slip up in the south of France last night.

Fifth placed Leeds Rhinos travelled to Hull to take on sixth placed FC, with fourth place up for grabs for the winner.

This is one of Super League’s needle games, which many supporters look forward to from the start of the season, and it has often thrown up titanic battles where no quarter is asked or given.

But, the Rhinos have won the last ten Super League meetings between the two sides.

FC made a number of changes to last weeks winning side with Mark Minichiello, Dean Hadley and Sika Manu all back in the side.

Just the one change for Brian McDermott’s side, defeated at home against the Wigan Warriors last week, with Adam Cuthbertson in the starting line up as Singleton was omitted, with Brett Ferres getting a place on the bench.

Just one point seprated the Wigan Warriors in second and the Leeds Rhinos in fourth coming into tonights game at Headingley.

The Rhinos would be up to second with a win, but the bookies slightly favoured the visitors.

Wigan hadn’t won at Headingley since 2012 but had every intention of putting an end to that losing sequence and maintaining the pressure on St Helens at the top of the table.

The Rhinos welcomed back Adam Cuthbertson, Joel Moon, Anthony Mullally, and Brett Delaney to the side who left it late to beat Wakefield Trinity last weekend.

Shaun Wane also juggled his side a little, with Ben Flower missing and replaced in the starting line up by Romaine Navarette, after their close encounter with the Catalans Dragons in the previous round.

Round seven saw the first meeting of Leeds Rhinos and the Castleford Tigers in 2018 as the Rhinos decamped from Headingley to Elland Road to accommodate the massive supporter interest in the game.

The Rhinos had the luxury of naming the same seventeen who beat the league leaders, St Helens, last weekend, and after having their game against the Wigan Warriors fall victim to the bad weather last week Daryl Powell had Jy Hitchcox in for Michael Shenton and Alex Foster in place of Oliver Holmes (suspended) while Jacob Trueman got a place on the bench after the long term loss of Jesse Sene-Lefao.

The Tigers took total control of last seasons league meetings between the two sides with the Rhinos arguably winning the only one that mattered, the Grand Final meeting at Old Trafford.

The only unbeaten side in Super League, St Helens, were up against the defending Champions, the Leeds Rhinos, in what was arguably the game of round six.

Saints made just one change and had Jon Wilkin back in the starting line-up with McCarthy-Scarsbrook dropping to the bench to replace the injured Alex Walmsley.

Leeds promoted Anthony Mullally from the bench in for Mitch Garbutt (knee), with Cameron Smith and Mikolaj Oledzki in the bench.

The home side were strong favourites with the bookies and the pundits, but Justin Holbrook acknowledged during the week that this would be their sternest test of the season so far.

Leeds were still without a number of their stars as they looked to continue their 2018 campaign.

The Challenge Cup holders took on the incumbent Super League Champions as Hull FC travelled to a new look Headingley Stadium to take on Leeds, looking for their first Super League away victory over the Rhinos in over ten years.

Neither team had a fully fit squad to choose from with the Rhinos still nursing a long injury list, but with six players returning to the side who lost in Widnes a fortnight ago.

The Airlie Birds were without Faraimo (concussion), Watts (suspended), Kelly and Houghton (both injured) while giving a Super League debut to Jordan Lane.

It was a reduced capacity crowd at a sold out Headingley, the new South Stand taking shape but only partially open, and with a temporary stand on the north side of the stadium.

The hopes of the northern hemisphere rested on the shoulders of seventeen Leeds Rhinos players as they visited AAMI Park in Melbourne for the stiffest of challenges against the mighty Melbourne Storm.

The 2018 Downer World Club Challenge was the Rhinos eighth appearance against the Australian champions, but the home side were firm favourites with the bookies, the Rhinos being given less chance than a snowflake in hell.

The Rhinos were bouyed by the return of Joel Moon in the halves, and Jimmy Keinhorst was rewarded for last weeks hat-trick with a place on the bench.

But Melbourne had a side that was packed with the household names of Origin and International Rugby League and it would be the stiffest of tests for the Rhinos.

After securing a narrow opening weekend win over the Warrington Wolves, the Champions Leeds were at the unfamiliar surroundings of Elland Road for the return of Danny McGuire, playing for Hull KR against his former employers for the first time.

 

KR suffered and opening weekend defeat in a home game against the Wakefield Wildcats and after gaining promotion last season they were seeking a major scalp and their first points of the year.

 

The Rhinos were without Joel Moon, who failed a fitness test, which would see Liam Sutcliffe partner Richie Myler in the halves.

Stevie Ward made his comeback from the bench after close season shoulder surgery.

The Robins had just one starting line-up change with Chris Atkin in for Matty Marsh at scrum half.

The eagerly anticipated Super League XXIII got underway at the Halliwell-Jones where Warrington Wolves were the hosts to the Champions, Leeds Rhinos, in front of the SKY cameras.

 

Warrington were hoping to consign a miserable 2017 to the history books and get their season off to a great start against a Rhinos side who have beaten them in thirty-five of the fifty-eight meeting in the Super League era.

 

The Rhinos played their first competitive match in the post Burrow and McGuire era and had their hopes pinned on debutants Richie Myler, Nathan Peteru and ex-Wolves star Brad Dwyer,  while Warrington gave debuts to close season captures Ben Murdoch-Masila and Bryson Goodwin.

 

Both Castleford Tigers and Leeds Rhinos put out strong sides as the Champions travelled to the Minor Premiers for a pre-season friendly on the eve of Super League XXIII.

Conditions were terrible for the game at the Mend-a-Hose Jungle, cold, damp and some snow flurries in the air.

Both coaches Powell and McDermott named extended benches as they looked to give a run out to their fully fit squad players as the Rhinos looked towards the start of the season in the post-Burrow and McGuire period.

One hundred and fifty six games, twelve thousand four hundred and eighty minutes, and two nail-biting semi-finals had landed Super League 2017 at Old Trafford for the Grand Final between Castleford Tigers and the Leeds Rhinos.



Castleford were making their first ever appearance in the games flagship final, whereas for the Rhinos it was their tenth outing, seeking to lift the trophy for the eighth time.



The Tigers were the clear favourites with the bookies and unbeaten in the last eight against the Rhinos, but without the services of Club Player of the Year, Zak Hardaker, and with the Rhinos packed with big occasion players, including the last game for legends Rob Burrow and Danny McGuire, it was billed to be a classic final in front of a sell out crowd.

It would be difficult for tonight’s meeting of second placed Leeds Rhinos and third played Hull FC to match up to last nights breathless action down the road at the Mend-a-hose Jungle as the two close rivals fought for the second spot at Old Trafford.



After an awful 2016 the Rhinos have bounced back to finish in second place but they were up against the repeat Challenge Cup holders who were determined to give themselves the chance of an elusive Cup and Grand Final double.



Only one side could progress and we were promised a battle royal.

With the Ladbroke's Challenge Cup safely returned to the trophy cabinet, Hull FC turned their attention to a top two finish and semi-final home advantage in the play-offs.

They needed to defeat the Leeds Rhinos at a Headingley which would seem a little less atmospheric than normal as the demolition crews moved into the South Stand.

A win for the home side would almost guarantee them a home play-off.



There were a couple of changes for the Leeds Rhinos with Mitch Garbutt returning from injury and on the bench and Rob Burrow being brought from the bench into the starting line up after Joel Moon was a very late withdrawal with a groin tweak in the warm up.

Lee Radford made a number of changes to his cup winning side bringing in Steve Michaels for the injured Griffin, Josh Bowden came off the bench for Watts, and Jansin Turgut replaced Minichiello in the second row, Brad Fash and Jordan Thompson were both named on the bench.

It was to be a night of emotion as the Leeds Rhinos said goodbye to the iconic South Stand, the home of the hardcore of the Rhinos supporters since its construction in 1932.

While the Leeds players were undoubtedly aware of the emotion of the occasion, coach McDermott had spent the week focussing his side to get the victory to keep them on track for a top two finish.



But Saints were also keen for a win which woudl lift them into the top four as they jostle for a play-off position and a shot at the Grand Final.



There is one change for the Rhinos who lost heavily to Wakefield Trinity last weekend with Walker stepping into the full back berth in place of Golding.

For Saints there were no changes to the seventeen who lost 8-6 to Hull FC last weekend.

The second round of the Super League Super Eights got underway as the second placed Leeds Rhinos made the short trip to Wakefield to take on sixth placed Trinity.

The home side were seeking a turnaround in their recent form and a return to the play-off positions but the Rhinos wanted to points to reduce Castleford Tigers lead at the top to six points.



Chris Chester welcomed back Jacob Miller from a broken leg as he made a few positional changes to the side which were beaten heavily at Huddersfield Giants last weekend.

Leeds coach Brian McDermott made just one change as Rob Burrow came into the seventeen as he returned from injury with Jordan Lilley stepping aside.



The bookies and pundits could only see a Rhinos victory, but no-one told Wakefield.