Star gets 9/10 but there's one 4 in Peter Smith's Leeds Rhinos player ratings from 42-12 win v Bradford Bulls

The Betfred Super League leaders lost the competition’s top try scorer Maika Sivo to a suspected broken arm in the first quarter and rookie forward Ben Littlewood, making his first senior start, picked up a hamstring injury before the break. That reduced Leeds to 15 available players, so in the circumstances they did a good job.

Bulls were below-strength anyway and lost stand-off Jayden Nikorima to a shoulder injury, but came with a nothing to lose approach and caused Rhinos problems for a while. They led from the 10th to 25th minutes and scored first after the break, but Leeds wore them down without being at their best. Architect of the win was scrum-half Jake Connor who kicked seven goals from as many attempts and provided the final pass or kick for all four tries in the second period. His 40-20 soon after Bulls handmade it 18-12 changed the game.

Sivo’s injury came after a big hit on former Leeds man Luke Hooley. Harry Newman switched to the right wing, James McDonnell went to right-centre, where he bagged a brace of tries for the second successive game and Cameron Smith came on in the back-row.

Rhinos were 6-0 down when Sivo departed. Bulls’ opening try on nine minutes came after a succession of Rhinos errors - knock-on by Jarrod O’Connor from Newman’s offload, Jack Bird shoved back in goal and Lachie Miller’s drop out sailing dead. Guy Armitage did remarkably well to ground Chris Atkin’s kick before the dead ball line. Hooley converted against his former club.

Bradford’s defence weren’t particularly troubled until the 24th minute when McDonnell intercepted Atkin’s pass and galloped 60 metres to score. Connor seemed to have nudged Leeds ahead moments later when he stretched over from acting-half. Aaron Moore’s onfield decision was ‘try’, but video official Chris Kendall reviewed it and spotted double-movement.

O’Connor’s terrific run set up Rhinos’ second try when it did come, eight minutes before the break. Bird, Kallum Watkins and Connor kept the ball alive and Newman, in the centre position, turned the ball outside for McDonnell, on the wing, to go over.

Leeds added six more in the final moments of the half, O’Connor popping up in the right place to cross off some Brodie Croft magic in front of the posts. At the start of the second half Rhinos’ defence stood off a kick, Ethan Ryan picked up, played a one-two with Atkins and stretched over, giving Hooley a simple conversion.

The six-point gap had Rhinos’ nerves jangling, but Connor got them out of bother with a huge 40-20, which was more like a 20-10 and in the resulting turned the ball back for Tom Holroyd to smash his way over. Referee Moore, on the spot, was going to give it, but touch judge Tara Jones said no. Video assistant Chris Kendall overturned the on-field call and Connor added the extras.

At the end of the next set the number seven put up a towering kick which Connor Wynne could only deflect to Croft who went in for his 23rd try of the campaign. That put the game out of Bradford’s reach and Leeds added two more tries, by Cooper Jenkins and captain Kallum Watkins, who played the full-80. Both came off passes from Connor.

In front of a crowd of 16,548, the penalty count was 7-5 in Rhinos’ favour and set-restarts went 7-2 to the same team.

Leeds Rhinos: Miller, Edgell, Newman, Bird, Sivo, Croft, Connor, Oledzki, O’Connor, Jenkins, Littlewood, McDonnell, Watkins. Subs Smith, Holroyd, Cassell, Nicholson-Watton.

Bradford Bulls: Aekins, Ryan, Armitage, Hooley, Wynne, Nikorima, Atkin, Sutton, Ackers, Ormondroyd, Fulton, Steinwede, Mellor. Subs Peposhi, Gardiner, Dean, Scurr.

Referee: Aaron Moore (Widnes). Attendance: 16,548.