Leeds Rhinos fans confident for Castleford Tigers derby after 'near perfect' win at Salford Red Devils

After a poor performance and shock home defeat to Wakefield Trinity in Betfred Super League round one, Leeds showed the other side of their character with an outstanding 32-6 victory, against the odds, to the delight of the YEP’s fans Jury. Most of our panel feel coach Brad Arthur’s side are on the right track, though one still has his doubts.

BECKY OXLEY

A visit to Salford is always an intriguing experience, particularly given the recent challenges they have faced. Consequently, I was uncertain of what to anticipate entering the match. A significantly superior squad, with 17 changes from the 82-0 thrashing by Saints in the inaugural game of the season, emerged from their changing room and within two minutes, I harboured doubts we might encounter a competitive contest.

I am impressed by Riley Lumb’s performance. He has been given the opportunity due to Maika Sivo’s injury and has thoroughly embraced it. It is gratifying to witness him scoring, creating opportunities and demonstrating his invaluable contribution to the squad. His performance undoubtedly motivates players to perform at their peak and raises questions about those who may be underperforming in their roles.

However, injuries appear to be occurring early in the season, which is a cause for concern. It seems to happen consistently and I wonder if there is anything that can be done to reduce the frequency of squad changes and establish some consistency and flow within the team.

Overall, it was a commendable performance with notable individual and team efforts, which were reflected in the scoreline. We look forward to facing Castleford Tigers at home this weekend in an attempt to secure another two points.

IAIN SHARP

If any further evidence was required, rugby league proved itself to be as tin pot as ever, with

the farce regarding the takeover at Salford. Then followed the issue of them putting out a scratch side in Super League round one, handing a convenient 82 points difference boost to St Helens.

No such luck for Leeds, with the matter resolved and most of the regular names back on the Reds’ team sheet. Behind on the scoreboard with only a few minutes gone, Matt Frawley off with a cut hand and then Brodie Croft carried off with a serious-looking injury (he was okay afterwards, apparently), things could have gone badly wrong.

Thankfully, a good second half performance gave Leeds their first win of the season. There were a couple of notable events. The activation of the 18th man to compensate for losing Croft due to foul play and the first successful captain’s challenge of an on-field decision. Given we’ve all seen incidents like that one before, just how many were officials in the

past getting wrong? Sunday sees Castleford at HQ and hopefully, things will be done to enhance the atmosphere compared to the opening Wakefield game. I’ve been more lively A team (reserve) games in my time.

DAVID MUHL

It was an historic day at Salford, Ash Handley calling the first successful captain’s challenge in Super League. After the previous week’s disappointing performance, this was the complete opposite. I wasn’t expecting that when Salford went into the lead without Leeds touching the ball, but how wrong I was. It turned out to be as near a perfect performance as they come, but not without its cost.

The loss of Brodie Croft after a long stoppage in play and Cameron Smith’s ankle injury mean we will be without these two players for at least the Castleford game, but there were good performances across the team. Keenan Palasia stood out in the forwards, playing 72 minutes of the game and providing some real go forward. He was ably supported by Tom Holroyd. At last we have a pack of forwards who can hold their own and aren’t bullied off the park.

Young Riley Lumb got the official man of the match for an excellent all-round performance, but my choice was Jake Connor. He was superb both in attack and defence and his kicking game was really effective, creating two tries. Another player who deserves special mention is Morgan Gannon who, as well as scoring a great try, had an excellent all-round game, slotting into the halves for a lengthy period.

It was the third time this year we have nilled the opposition in the second half of a game and Brad Arthur’s pre-season work with the squad is definitely shining through. Long may it continue. The team really looked like they were playing for each other, totally opposite to last week’s performance. It’s Castleford at home next and let’s hope we continue where we left at Salford. Castleford always raise their game when they visit Headingley.

TOM GOLDSWORTHY

In what seemed like the perfect response to the disappointing opening day result, Leeds Rhinos put in an impressive performance to kick start their 2025 season and ruined Salford's big day in the process. What impressed me the most was the resilience in the team after multiple knockbacks.

After conceding in the opening minutes and having star players like Brodie Croft and Cameron Smith go off injured, the Leeds of yesteryear would have crumbled. I think this is a testament to the work Brad Arthur has already done at this club and hopefully is a sign of things to come this year.

There were a number of standout performances throughout the whole squad which was pleasing to see, especially youngster Morgan Gannon who looks to be finally back to his best after numerous injury setbacks. The strength on show for his try was unbelievable as he held off at least four players to get over the line.

Another player who stepped up and continues to prove the doubters wrong is Jake Connor. He looks to have fitted into life at the Rhinos seamlessly and is proving to be a real asset to this team as he provided another two try assists at the weekend. When Lachie Miller is back fit, Brad Arthur is going to have a real headache deciding who to start as Connor looks undroppable at the moment.

For me, to pick any negatives from the performance would be nitpicking at this point. We did look a bit flat for the first 20 minutes, but it was always going to be a cagey affair against a resurgent Salford side. While Salford aren't the best team (anyone with Chris Hill and Brad Singleton as starting props is always going to struggle), it was important for us to play some good rugby and restrict them to minimal points. Confidence and momentum is essential if we are to compete for silverware this season and that starts by beating poor opposition.

Looking ahead to the Castleford game, we should be beating them convincingly. I appreciate it's a bit of a cup final for them and they will be excited to play at a proper stadium, but that is no excuse for us to take our foot off the gas. We've shown we can beat poor teams comfortably and it's time for us to do it on a consistent basis.

GAVIN MILLER

A false dawn: noun. A promising situation which comes to nothing. I was looking up the dictionary definition of a false dawn while also having the hope the game against Salford is not one.

A rollercoaster ride: verb. Move, change, or occur in a dramatically changeable manner. I then looked up the definition of a rollercoaster ride in its verb form and the move and dramatically changeable manner sounds like Leeds’ season thus far.

It may well be we experience a number of false dawns while riding a rollercoaster this season. Things on Saturday pointed to this. Matt Frawley, diabolical against Wakefield and not much better prior to his injury at Salford, looked great when he came back on after Brodie Croft’s head knock saw him leave the field.

If that’s not the definition of rollercoaster then I’m not sure what is. Forwards that looked beaten a week previous stood up to be counted a week later. Rollercoaster! The one thing a professional sports coach is looking for is consistency and two weeks into the season Leeds have reached the top and the bottom of the roller coaster, when in fact the coach is looking for a lazy river.