Leeds Rhinos 12 Hull KR 20: Robins steal show to hand Brad Arthur losing start

Instead of looking over their shoulder, Rovers are now scaling for the summit.

A fourth straight win over Leeds took Willie Peters' men to within two points of leaders Wigan Warriors – with the help of old foes Hull FC who pulled off a stunning victory against the champions just an hour earlier.

KR have failed to convince since dispatching London Broncos in the capital but they keep grinding out results, this a sixth win in seven games.

The Robins had to dig deep to get past a Leeds team energised by Arthur's arrival.

The Rhinos hit the front in the fifth minute through Rhyse Martin and defended the lead with the intent that Arthur had called for in the build-up.

But Mikey Lewis changed the game with a try-saving effort on David Fusitu'a and was at the heart of everything good for Rovers in a hugely influential performance.

Lachie Miller, who had endured a difficult afternoon, appeared to have won it for Leeds but late tries from Jai Whitbread and Jez Litten denied Arthur a winning start.

After being given 10 games to rescue the Rhinos' season, the former Parramatta Eels boss is already running out of time with four points to make up if he is to guide the club to the play-offs.

There were positives in a committed performance but Leeds continue to be haunted by costly errors.

Arthur had only a matter of days to work with his players before his Super League bow, yet they played in his image in the opening 40 minutes.

The Australian's philosophy is "very effort-based" and he could have no complaints on that front in a first-half shutout.

Leeds were accused of being passive under Rohan Smith but they went after the collision and enjoyed it, just as Arthur requested.

The Rhinos' cause was helped by an early error by old boy Jack Broadbent that allowed Martin to open the scoring and settle any early nerves in the home camp.

The KR full-back made a mess of Matt Frawley's high kick and Martin was on the spot to finish before adding the extras himself.

With the sun beating down on Headingley, it felt made for a free-flowing encounter.

But instead the teams went set for set in an energy-sapping contest that was still well and truly in the balance at half-time.

Leeds had the opportunity to press home their advantage following Martin's opener but a combination of scrambling defence and poor execution kept the score at 6-0.

Paul Momirovski was held up on the last tackle from a cross-field kick before Fusitu'a had a try ruled out following a misdirected pat back by Miller.

With Frawley and Brodie Croft taking on the line at every opportunity, Leeds gave Rovers plenty to think about as they sought a response.

The odd flash of quality from Lewis aside, though, the Robins were clunky with the ball and struggled to build pressure against a fired-up defence.

The Headingley faithful responded in kind with thunderous applause when James McDonnell flew out of the line to shut down Dean Hadley.

The back-rower hobbled off soon after but the Rhinos continued to defend with vigour to shut down KR's chief threats.

For all Lewis' endeavour on the left edge, Rovers were misfiring elsewhere, as evidenced by a wild kick dead from his half-back partner Tyrone May.

Martin spurned a chance to give Leeds a two-score lead from a penalty for interference out wide on the right but the visitors were in a good spot at the interval.

Arthur had told his team to build a game and "accumulate a lot of small wins along the way" and they were carrying out his instructions, whether it was turning the ball over in good areas or forcing the Robins into errors.

The momentum shifted three minutes into the second half when Fusitu'a spurned a golden chance to extend the home side's advantage, the winger seeing the ball knocked from his grasp after being left one on one with the diminutive Lewis out wide.

In a 12-point swing, Rovers scored at the other end two minutes later through Ryan Hall, who will rejoin old club Leeds at the end of the year, after Matt Parcell exchanged passes with Kelepi Tanginoa.

Not content with the game-changing play, Lewis kicked his second 40/20 of the match before outmuscling Momirovski and Croft to touch down out wide.

In between times, Miller made a mess of a deep kick by the half-back and got caught inside his in-goal area.

The Australian was guilty of trying too hard as he set about atoning for the error, throwing a wild pass into touch before being bundled over the sideline himself.

True to form for the enigmatic full-back, he went from zero to hero to put Leeds on the verge of a vital victory.

Frawley's steepling kick caused chaos under the crossbar and Miller picked Broadbent's pocket to touch down.

But the Rhinos could not see out the game as Rovers took advantage of mistakes to underline their title credentials.

Whitbread scored after Fusitu'a failed to claim Lewis' high kick before Litten threw a dummy to race over following a loose play the ball by Momirovski.

Leeds Rhinos: Miller, Fusitu'a, Momirovski, Newman, Handley, Croft, Frawley, Eseh, Ackers, Oledzki, Martin, McDonnell, Smith. Substitutes: O'Connor, Donaldson, Edgell, Lisone.

Tries: Martin (5), Miller (69)

Goals: Martin 2/3

Hull KR: Broadbent, Burgess, Hiku, Gildart, Hall, Lewis, May, Sue, Parcell, Hadley, Storton, Opacic, Minchella. Substitutes: Litten, Tanginoa, Whitbread, Luckley.

Tries: Hall (45), Lewis (52), Whitbread (74), Litten (78)

Goals: Lewis 2/4

Referee: Liam Moore.