Leeds Rhinos 36 Warrington Wolves 0: Rampant Rhinos roll back the years at Headingley

It’s not quite 30 years, but you’d have to go a long way back to the last occasion when Leeds played this well against a good team.

On the back of victories over Hull KR and Salford Red Devils, it was the first time Rhinos have won three successive games since 2018 – and the previous treble against Super League opposition was a year earlier than that.

Warrington – including star half-backs Blake Austin and Gareth Widdop – were unexpectedly poor, but they played as well as Rhinos let them.

The hosts dealt very well with some major disruption in the opening 20 minutes when try scorer Jack Walker, who had been superb up to that point, hobbled off and substitute Richie Myler came on at full-back.

Warrington got over the line before Leeds had possession. Rhinos conceded a penalty in the first set, then on the last tackle Blake Austin kicked to Leeds’s right, Toby King made the catch, but Luke Briscoe prevented him getting the ball down.

Leeds, though, drew first blood after only six minutes, Walker exploiting a missed tackle by Keenan Brand to step through from Luke Gale’s pass.

Rhyse Martin – back in the second-row after a two-game absence – added the conversion and then a penalty six minutes later after a flop by Brand on Walker.

Martin, captain on the night, replaced Alex Sutcliffe in the only change to the 17 who beat Salford.

Rhinos went big from the start, with Ava Seumanufagai, Mikolaj Oledzki and Matt Prior all in the 13 and it worked.

Prior – who flattened Austin with a big hit early on – started at loose-forward, so Cameron Smith dropped to the bench. He got plenty of game time and used it well.

Walker made a brilliant start and Warrington couldn’t cope when he chimed into the line, but on 16 minutes he made a run from dummy-half, was tackled and injured a foot in the process.

He hobbled on for five minutes before bowing to the inevitable and being replaced by Myler, who went straight to full-back.

Walker’s injury will be a concern with a short turnaround and no other full-back in the squad. Rhys Evans, who might have been an option, was loaned back to Bradford Bulls on Monday and can’t be recalled for a month.

Playing against his former club, Dwyer rode to Rhinos’ rescue when Warrington gave the ball some air and found Tom Lineham on the left-wing, but the hooker made a brilliant try-saving tackle. That was Leeds’s last real scare.

Myler is a specialist half-back who has been filling in as back-up hooker. He won’t have expected to have been playing at No 1 last night. Seven minutes before the interval he spilled Austin’s kick almost on Leeds’s line, but Rhinos’ defence held out from the scrum. That was a pivotal moment as the hosts added four more points before half-time.

Konrad Hurrell lost possession after one huge charge, then had the ball stolen by Josh Charnley on another.

Following the penalty Smith was held up over the Wire line, but then Gale’s pass opened the door for Myler who timed his run perfectly to dash over, though there was no conversion.

The first try of the second period was obviously going to be important and Rhinos got it, in bizarre circumstances, five minutes in.

Harry Newman kicked on the last, the ball pinged off a defender, was picked up by Myler and he supplied Dwyer who charged gleefully over.

Referee Robert Hicks indicated no try, but was overruled by video assistant Chris Kendall and Martin added the extras to make it 20-0.

On 52 minutes Warrington were reduced to 12 men as Ben Murdoch-Masila was yellow carded for a high shot on Alex Mellor. It looked bad, but the Rhinos man was slipping when he was clobbered, which is probably what saved Murdoch-Masila from a sending-off.

Leeds made the most of their man advantage. They tapped the kickable penalty and that was rewarded as, from Myler’s pass, Hurrell stormed over at the corner, before the ball came loose.

Hicks handed it on as a try and, with no clear evidence either way, the decision stood. Then Seumanufagai showed amazing strength to twist over from close-range, Martin’s goal making it 
30-0.

At the start of the the second-half Warrington got the ball back from a short goal line drop-out. They tried the same tactic three-times from restarts – and on each occasion Newman made a brilliant catch.

The third of those set up Leeds’s next try, Gale handing on to Myler whose long pass found Ash Handley, the winger cutting inside to score.

Martin added a touchline kick. Newman has been in tremendous form since switching from wing to centre three years ago and would have deserved a try when he crossed with 10 minutes left, but Rob Lui’s pass was forward.

Rhinos played in their change kit – apparently at the request of Sky Sports – to avoid a colour clash with the visitors who were in their traditional primrose and blue.

Leeds: Walker, Handley, Hurrell, Newman, L. Briscoe, Gale, Lui, Seumanufagai, Dwyer, Oledzki, Mellor, Martin, Prior. Substitutes: Myler, Smith, Donaldson, Cuthbertson.

Warrington: Ratchford, Lineham, Brand, King, Charnley, Austin, Widdop, Hill, D. Clark, Cooper, Currie, Murdoch-Masila, J. Clark. Substitutes: Philbin, Davis, Johnson, Burrell.

Referee: Robert Hicks (RFL)