'What a win': Leeds Rhinos fans praise 'sublime' Cameron Smith as thoughts turn to league leaders' shield

Cameron Smith, who will join Trinity next season, produced a stunning performance off the substitutes’ bench as Rhinos hit back from 16-0 and 22-6 down to snatch a precious 24-22 victory against their title rivals. With Rhinos two points clear at the top of the table and only five rounds remaining in the regular season, the YEP’s fans jury are beginning to dream of a first Betfred Super League leaders’ shield since 2015.

IAIN SHARP

In beating Wakefield at Belle Vue on Friday night Leeds showed the sort of fighting spirit that

has taken them to the top of the pile this season, against perhaps the league’s surprise package.

At 16-0, then 16-6 down at half-time followed by the body blow of another Wakefield score straight after the break, the Leeds of a few years ago would have evaporated faster than an ice cube in the current weather, but not this Leeds team and if you didn’t have them down as serious contenders before, you should do now.

The victory has mathematically assured play-off football in mid-September, so clear your diaries now. The win also inflicted on Wakefield something nagging and psychological at the back of their minds, should they meet Leeds again during those play-offs.

Cam Smith was sublime off the bench and we better have lined up an outstanding replacement for him next year. Equally influential was, of course, Jake Connor, a player whose next contract negotiations should include a further bonus based on the number of superlative mentions in local media articles like this one. It’s Leigh at home on Thursday night and, like the weather, hopefully there’s no let up.

DAVID MUHL

What a game that was. I wasn’t confident; Wakefield were on a good winning run and playing well. I thought in the first half our pack were second-best and Trinity coach Daryl Powell made his substitutions at just the right time.

We managed to score just before half-time, but allowed them to score first in the second half - then we took off. Cam Smith had probably his best game for Leeds, showing his new employers what they will be getting next season. His try was top class and his defending was brilliant, especially his try-saving tackle. This was a story of substitutes, our bench was superb and Presley Cassell is developing into a great middle.

For me, the game changed when Jack Sinfield went off. He was running the game until that point. Although Jake Connor had a quieter game than usual, he was still involved in most of Leeds’ points.

I think all the Leeds players played well, this was a real team effort and they looked a complete unit. I’ve seen many teams over the years that would simply collapse in this situation, but Brad Arthur has moulded this team into a real, complete unit. The speed of the game never slowed down and showed what athletes we have on both teams. The intensity was high throughout. Wakefield have a big pack and Leeds had to be on top form to handle them.

A tight, hard-fought win will, I think, set us up well for games to come. If we beat Leigh at home on Thursday, I think the league leaders’ shield will be ours. People always look to the Grand Final at Old Trafford as the trophy to win, but the league leaders’ shield is the harder; you have to be the most consistent team throughout the year whereas it takes two or three victories to win the Grand Final.

BECKY OXLEY

What a victory and what a remarkable comeback, all to secure two points and a spot in the play-offs after 22 rounds of Super League. ‘Wow’ perfectly encapsulated my feelings about the game on its conclusion. The team’s unwavering belief to fight until the final whistle was extraordinary, echoing the saying ‘it’s not over till the fat lady sings’.

At 22-6 down shortly after half-time, I felt anxious. Wakey have showcased some fantastic rugby this season and I anticipated a challenging match on their home turf. In the second half we rallied, demonstrating the strength and determination needed to cross the line and secure those two points.

Cameron Smith delivered an outstanding performance. He was everywhere on the field, exhibiting remarkable skill in both his plays and tackles. His 100 per cent tackle success rate by the end of the match highlighted his exceptional performance.

Being two points clear at the top of the league with five games remaining is a source of pride. The way Brad Arthur has the team functioning, his approach when addressing the team and the respect the players have for him have all contributed to our playing some of the best rugby we’ve seen in a long time.

It’s wonderful to see us back in our rightful place and with any luck we can clinch the league leaders’ shield and perhaps even the Grand Final. Next up is Leigh and I hope we can build on our victory against Wakey and secure another two points in the league.

KATIE MARCZYNSKI

What a win. The season is by no means finished, but the two points against Wakefield could prove very important in our bid for the league leaders’ shield. And even though we’re only two above Wigan in second, our superior points difference makes it seem like three.

As usual, Brad Arthur got it spot on when he said that was a game we might have lost earlier in the year. Our attitude was the difference - it didn’t seem like we were chasing the game, even though we were and when Chris Hankinson got the winner on 77 minutes it felt like it had been a long time coming.

A draw may have been a fairer result, but champion sides manage to dig deep and win games like we did on Friday. Before it was officially awarded, I called Cam Smith as our player of the match. He had no right making that try-saving tackle on Cam Scott and is coming into some great form at the right time of the year.

I’m looking forward to Thursday’s visit of Leigh. We should be wary, given they beat us in round one and will be looking to bolster their league position. It’s a must-win game, but one I can’t really see us losing.

TOM GOLDSWORTHY

In one of the most entertaining games of the season so far, Leeds somehow produced a miraculous comeback to beat Wakefield. For about 50 minutes Trinity were in complete control as we looked very soft in both attack and defence.

However, as we have seen time and time again under Brad Arthur, Leeds do not give up and after a switch up in our approach, we overcame our neighbours in a result few would have predicted at half-time. While the comeback itself will go down in history, especially if we go on to win a trophy this year, Leeds need to improve on that first half performance.

We looked like we had run out of ideas in attack and our defence looked exhausted after about 10 minutes. Even with the injuries we have, we still had enough quality on the pitch to not be conceding soft tries and all four of Wakefield’s could have been avoided. Once we stopped playing to the occasion and started running with the ball and throwing it about more, we had a lot more success so hopefully this is a lesson learned.

One of the players to make a real difference on Friday night was Cam Smith. He came on and provided some much-needed fight. He did well to score his try and on another day might have scored a few more. What was equally as important was his last-ditch tackle to take the Wakefield player into touch and prevent him from scoring which would have abruptly ended our comeback. He is in the form of his life at the moment and this version of Smith will be missed when he moves to Wakefield.

Thursday night sees us play another play-off rival as Leigh visit Headingley in what will be another heated battle. Our home form has been incredible this year and - with the momentum gained after our comeback against Wakefield - will see us over the line as we push on for our first league leaders’ shield in 11 years.