It is certainly not job done for Leeds Rhinos – far from it, in fact – but hope seems to have been restored to the terraces at Headingley again. As the players tasked with dragging the eight-times Super League champions out of this relegation battle celebrated at full-time, the response from everyone associated with the club underlined how significant an afternoon this was.
There are still plenty of twists and turns to come in the final nine weeks of the regular season but defeat here for Leeds would have been unthinkable. Instead, this victory over Catalans not only lifts them off the bottom but further constricts the relegation battle. Leeds, London, Huddersfield and Hull KR are now separated only by points difference, and while it is now a genuine four-way battle to avoid finishing bottom, this performance should reaffirm the belief many possess at Headingley that there is the quality to get out of that dogfight.
“I think we’ve still got our best stuff to come,” the Rhinos coach, Richard Agar, said. “Don’t think we’re now blasé about our league position though. Far from it.”
Perhaps the biggest indicator Leeds have the capabilities to survive came in the second half. Having raced into an 18-0 lead courtesy of tries from Adam Cuthbertson, Tom Briscoe and Brad Singleton, Leeds fans would have been forgiven for thinking it was Groundhog Day when the Dragons pulled it back to 18-12 midway through the second period. Leeds have fallen apart at that stage on several occasions this season, but the fact they had the character to hold off Catalans’ rally and actually finish comfortable victors suggests there are more positive times ahead for the Rhinos.
For Catalans, though, this was another damaging and demoralising afternoon for their play-off hopes. This is now five defeats in a row, and while tries from Arthur Romano and Sam Tomkins did make it 18-12 at one stage, they were left to rue both a dismal start and finish to this contest.
“It’s not a nice situation; we’ve had a poor month and we’ve got to turn it around,” Steve McNamara, the Catalans coach, said.
Catalans arguably scored the best tries of the game and, in McNamara’s view, were the better team for large periods. He may well be right but that quick-fire start from Leeds always left the Dragons playing catch-up on an afternoon when they dropped out of the play-off places.
A month ago they were eyeing up second-placed Warrington but the hosts deserve credit for the way they finished the stronger of the sides here. Konrad Hurrell’s try on 67 minutes calmed any nerves, before Jack Walker’s individual effort with four minutes remaining rounded off the scoring. By then, though, the celebrations among Leeds supporters had already started.
Leeds Walker; Briscoe, Newman, Hurrell, Handley; Lui, Myler; Cuthbertson, Dwyer, Oledzki, Sutcliffe, Ferres, Merrin Interchange Smith, Donaldson, Singleton, Albert Tries Cuthbertson, Briscoe, Singleton, Hurrell, Walker Goals Sutcliffe 5 Drop goal Myler
Catalans Tomkins; Broughton, Mead, Wiliame, Romano; Langi, Smith; Kasiano, Da Costa, Moa, Jullien, Garcia, Casty. Interchange Bousquet, Simon, Goudemand, Maria Tries Romano, Tomkins Goals Tomkins 2
Referee S Mikalauskas. Attendance 12,638
