Leeds Rhinos fans worried over Jake Connor, impressed by Matt Lodge, expect battle at 'bogey team' St Helens

Travelling supporters contributed to a sell-out crowd and a 66-16 victory lifted their side back into top spot on the Betfred Super League ladder. It made a good day out for the YEP’s Rhinos fans jury, but an injury to star Jake Connor took some of the gloss off. Here’s their review of yesterday’s (Sunday) game and thoughts on Friday’s crucial fixture at St Helens.

KATIE MARCZYNSKI

A solid performance against York was the response we needed after losing to Leigh. Winning by such a big margin was the perfect way to build confidence heading into our remaining games.

I’ve been so focused by Wigan in a few weeks’ time that I hadn’t thought about the fact we travel to St Helens on Friday. Saints were looking completely out of the play-offs, but a couple of good wins and some poor performances by Hull KR mean they are back in the mix.

It’s always a difficult place to go and I’ve mentioned before about St Helens being a bogey team for us, so I am a little worried. The good news is we look set to welcome back Danny Levi and Jack Bird, who I imagine will take the place of some of our younger players, who have done a great job recently.

We’ve really missed Levi, so that one would be a big plus. Hopefully Jake Connor is fine to play too and his treatment towards the end of Sunday's game was more precautionary than anything too serious, although it didn’t look great. Both teams on Friday have everything to play for so it's sure to be an exciting match, whatever the result.

TOM GOLDSWORTHY

Leeds returned to winning ways with a resounding victory away at York Knights as we continue our pursuit of finishing top of the league. It felt like a good game to reset after our loss to Leigh and build some momentum before our tough end of season run-in.

Leeds did not really need to get out of second gear to pick up the win against York. We looked impressive with the ball and took plenty of chances, but on another day we could have easily scored 80+ points. I think York have done well in their first season in Super League, but there was a massive gulf in quality between the two sides and this was reflected in the scoreline.

He came under criticism last week, but Lachie Miller looked like he was returning to his old self on Sunday. Miller was a constant thorn in York’s side and did not overplay, which our attack massively benefitted from. He scored one, set up two and made just under 200 metres; hopefully this is a sign of things to come from our explosive full-back as we head into the business end of the season.

Every game now is massive for the Rhinos as it could make or break our season and this starts with our trip to St Helens on Friday. Saints have not been at their best this year, but are a team who can cause an upset when you least expect it. We have not had the best of luck in Merseyside recently, but I back the boys to do the business against a depleted Saints side and set up an exciting finale to our 2026 campaign.

DAVID MUHL

That was my first trip to the York Community Stadium and what a visit it was: great stadium and a great performance by the Rhinos. The last time I watched a York v Leeds game was back in the 1980s at Bootham Crescent.

I think the Leeds fans outnumbered the York fans, making it a bumper pay day for the Knights. I don’t think anything but a Leeds win was on the cards, but the win was emphatic. We came out as if we had a point to prove after last week’s loss to Leigh, were well in command by half-time and never looked back.

Before leaving the field injured, Jake Connor was having a great game kicking two superb 40/20s and having a hand in six tries. Our new signing Matt Lodge made his debut, scoring a try and looking like he’ll be a good addition to the squad once he gets over the jetlag and his teammates realise following him will gift them possession from his wonderful off-loads.

Zak Lloyd continued his good run in the side and looks a good prospect. Riley Lumb marked his return to the team with a hat-trick, but the try of the game went to Ash Handley who chipped the defensive line, regathered and put the ball down. Credit to York, I expected them to fade badly in the last 20, but if anything, they played their best rugby.

The injuries to Connor and Cameron Smith are worrying; with a short turnaround to Saints on Friday it will be a fight against the clock to get them fit. It will be a difficult game on Friday, Saints, no doubt will play their usual spoiling game and we will have to be on our best to stay top of the league.

BECKY OXLEY

This marked the first occasion playing at York in Super League. Before the match I anticipated a challenging game, but I believed we would secure the two points. With Matt Lodge making his debut, I was eager to see how he had integrated into the team and what contributions he could make in the final weeks of the season.

We scored 36 points in the first half, showcasing our exceptional performance. Our play the balls were quick and we moved the ball around effectively, resulting in numerous tries. The entire team collaborated seamlessly, making significant progress down the field, which appeared quite effortless.

Riley Lumb has faced criticism this season regarding his performance on the wing. However, he proved his value by scoring a hat-trick, which I believe will boost his confidence in the forthcoming matches. In the second half we lost some momentum, allowing a few easy tries that we cannot afford to concede in the next couple of games. Such lapses could determine the outcome between a win and a loss and securing points is crucial at this stage of the season.

Our next challenge is against St Helens away on their home turf. I expect a tough contest as they are striving to break into the top-six, but I predict a Rhinos victory by four.

IAIN SHARP

“What have the Romans ever given us” cried Monty Python and I suspect few in the Roman Senate ever envisaged the Loiner hordes emulating the Visigoths in 410AD and laying waste to the place, both on and off the field. Only major dates on the racing calendar could

match the bar takings in central York as the travelling faithful eschewed the usual M62 journey for the A64 instead and the first meeting in York between the two teams for as long as anyone could remember.

Thankfully, Leeds had got my memo not to start scoring until I got there, arriving a few minutes late due to rail chaos and the fact “the ground has moved since the last time you were here”. That meant legging it to a retail park on the outskirts of the city.

On field, Leeds scored tries left, right and centre exceeding a point a minute for the first half hour and ending with a 52-minute Riley Lumb hat-trick, one by Mik Oledzki with his new Ed Straker from UFO hairdo, a couple from Chris Hankinson and a debut score from Matt Lodge. The only minor downside is that Leeds eased off and allowed a few York scores.

For the benefit of those back in Rome, it finished York XVI, Leeds LXVI as the Loiners, to quote Caesar “veni, vidi, vici”. It’s Saints next and the pain of last season’s play-off defeat is

still burning under the skin. Ecclesia (It’s the nearest Roman place to St Helens I could find) delenda est” as they say.