Leeds delivered the most impressive display of their title credentials yet with this emphatic victory against Salford. It was their fifth victory in six games and their only defeat in that period was a narrow one against the leaders, Castleford. After the annus horribilis of 2016, when the Rhinos went from champions to relegation contenders in the space of 12 months, there is little doubting that they are fully capable of going all the way again this season.
The reigning Super League champions, Wigan, have shown with back-to-back wins that their title challenge is not over just yet. St Helens, with two wins from their past three, have begun to threaten the same of late.
Castleford continue to set a blistering pace at the top of the table and, with an eight-point lead, the League Leader’s Shield inevitably looks theirs for the first time in their history. However, the very nature of play-off rugby means the race for Old Trafford and the Grand Final will not be so straightforward.
The three sides closest to Castleford – Leeds, Salford and Hull – have all shown on occasions this season that they could be capable of challenging the league leaders in a sudden-death play-off game. However, Leeds have history on their side and, after this convincing victory against one of their main rivals, they appear to have some form, too.
“This period of games is big and we’re now second and I’m proud about that,” Brian McDermott, the Leeds coach, said. “I thought we were outstanding in the first half. Sometimes when we’ve had a chance of going top or second we’ve not grasped it.
“It was the first dry track we’ve been on for a while and I think that played a part. Offensively that’s as good as we’ve been for a long time.”
The damage was done in a first half few would have predicted in a second-versus-third showdown. Salford had taken an early lead but what followed from Leeds was sensational. There were nine tries, most of them of the highest quality, as the triumvirate of Danny McGuire, Joel Moon – once of this parish – and Matt Parcell wreaked havoc.
If McGuire wishes to play on in 2018 and the Rhinos’ hierarchy were watching closely enough here, they would have been wise to draw up a new deal for the half-back to sign before he had left the AJ Bell Stadium changing rooms after a masterful display.
“They taught us a lesson of how to play a top-of-the-table clash. It’s a lesson we need to learn,” said the Salford coach, Ian Watson, whose side were well below the standards they have set themselves this season. “We were not happy with the way we started the game. To say we were off is a massive understatement. Leeds got on the front foot and played too fast for us.”
This was Salford’s heaviest defeat of the year and, with a Challenge Cup semi‑final against Wigan three weeks away, an unwelcome setback. Josh Wood’s try had suggested a brighter outcome in the opening stages for the hosts but from there it was almost complete one-way traffic. There were 36 unanswered points in a 24-minute passage of play with Parcell, Moon and Ryan Hall all crossing.
Salford, to their credit, were much improved in the second half and two tries for Ben Murdoch-Masila and another for Michael Dobson restored some semblance of credibility for the hosts. But, fittingly, Leeds had the final say through Jack Walker’s try.
Castleford remain red-hot favourites for Old Trafford but it is increasingly clear that Leeds cannot be written out of the race for the title.
Salford O’Brien; Johnson, Welham, Sa’u, Evalds; Lui, Dobson; Tasi, Wood, Kopczak, Murdoch-Masila, Jones, Hauraki. Interchange Krasniqi, Griffin, Lannon, Brining.
Tries Wood, Murdoch-Masila 2, Dobson. Goals Dobson 4.
Leeds Walker; Briscoe, Watkins, Ward, Hall; Moon, McGuire; Galloway, Parcell, Singleton, Jones-Buchanan, Ablett, Cuthbertson. Interchange Lilley, Garbutt, Mullally, Walters.
Tries Hall, Briscoe 2, Watkins, Parcell, Moon, Jones-Buchanan, Mullally, Walker. Goals Watkins 3, Lilley 4.
Referee J Child.
