The irony surely must not have been lost on Leeds fans. With two minutes remaining in this pulsating Super League encounter, the game finely poised at 24-24 and the Rhinos in prime attacking position, the league leaders had a chance to slot a drop-goal and extend their lead at the summit to six points. But the man who has so often provided those game-deciding moments over his illustrious career, Rhinos captain Kevin Sinfield, was nowhere to be seen.
That was because the Leeds coach Brian McDermott had opted to drop the club’s all-time leading points scorer for the first time in 15 years, after spending the last two games appearing from the bench.
And with heir apparent Liam Sutcliffe – who will likely step into Sinfield’s shoes when he leaves Leeds to play rugby union for Yorkshire Carnegie later this year – in his place to nail the drop-goal, he could only shank the kick wide and ensure that a quite incredible West Yorkshire derby finished all square.
The Rhinos could and perhaps should have won the game before that, but despite tossing away a 22-6 lead midway through the second half to trail by two points late on, they ultimately grabbed a draw and stretched their lead at the top of the table to five points.
“I thought we were good throughout,” said McDermott. “Huddersfield stifled us in the second half; some of the ball we had, we were just too gassed to do anything with it.
On the decision to omit Sinfield, who had appeared from the bench in the last two games, he said: “I can understand why you’d think it was a big call, but Liam Sutcliffe and Danny McGuire have been sensational recently.
“Kevin still has a role to play for us; he’s a fantastic player and a fantastic sportsman. He wasn’t happy about the news, but he’s a real pro.”
Huddersfield preserved their healthy home record against Leeds with this point: they have now not lost at home to their West Yorkshire rivals since 2011. “I thought we should have won,” insisted their coach, Paul Anderson. “I’m disappointed with the first half, I thought it was disgraceful from us. It’s the first time this year we’ve challenged [the players’] effort. Some of them took what we said at half-time on board and moved it forward, which is pleasing.”
Huddersfield’s only points of the first hour came early on when Scotland teammates Danny Brough and Joe Wardle combined to send the latter over for the game’s opening score. However, from that point on Leeds took control.
Tries from Brett Delaney, Carl Ablett and Joel Moon put Leeds in control at 18-6, before Kallum Watkins further extended the lead with a magnificent finish in the corner. Sutcliffe was off target with that attempt at goal, before a penalty from Danny Brough reduced the gap to 22-8 on the stroke of half-time.
Huddersfield then proceeded to throw everything they had at the visitors in the second half, bombarding the Rhinos for almost 20 minutes before the pressure finally took its toll on Leeds’ defence.
The floodgates were broken when Michael Lawrence crashed over to give Huddersfield hope, before scores from Jermaine McGillvary and a second for Wardle, coupled with two goals from Brough, nudged Huddersfield ahead.
A penalty from Sutcliffe then tied it up at 24-24 late on, before he had that opportunity to snatch the win for Leeds with a gilt-edged chance in front of goal.
Both Sutcliffe and then Brough hooked attempts to win the game for their sides, and leave both teams with what could be a precious point come the end of the season.
Huddersfield Grix; McGillvary, Cudjoe, Connor, Murphy; Brough, Ellis; Mullally, Wood, Huby, Wardle, Hughes, Ta’ai. Interchange Crabtree, Lawrence, Kopczak, Leeming
Tries Wardle 2, Lawrence, McGillvary Goals Brough 4
Leeds Hardaker; Watkins, Keinhorst, Moon, Handley; Sutcliffe, McGuire; Cuthbertson, Aiton, Peacock, Delaney, Ablett, Jones-Buchanan Interchange Burrow, Achurch, Singleton, Mulhern
Tries Delaney, Ablett, Moon, Watkins Goals Sutcliffe 4
Referee R Silverwood.
Attendance 6,381
