Leeds Rhinos 44 Wakefield Trinity 40: Crisis talk averted at Headingley for now as Ablett secures victory

The reigning champions had lost four of their previous five Super League games to create talk of another crisis at Headingley.

And they looked in real danger of suffering another defeat as Wakefield Trinity Wildcats made them battle all the way for two crucial points which see them sneak back up into the top eight.

Even when Ablett – one of 10 Leeds players picked who had played for England sides over the weekend – shrugged off defenders to put them 44-36 ahead with four minutes remaining in a see-sawing game, it was not over.

Winger Peter Fox exposed more brittle Rhinos defence in the late stages and Trinity forfeited their conversion attempt in order to try to push on for the win.

But they eventually ran out of time, ending a disappointing few hours for the club who earlier in the day had learned a crucial decision on their new stadium plans at Newmarket had been delayed for a second time.

Leeds went 12-0 ahead in almost as many minutes, but that scoreline was hugely deceiving.

Wakefield, with Paul Aiton and Tim Smith impressive, had started with more purpose and adventure, only to see such endeavour backfire spectacularly.

Twice they put in attacking kicks and twice Leeds picked up to sprint in for long-range tries.

First, Zak Hardaker took hold of Paul Sykes’s grubber and smartly eluded Trinity’s chasers on an 80m run.

Soon after, Smith’s testing kick was defused by Rhinos winger Ben Jones-Bishop – who, like Hardaker, scored twice for England Knights on Saturday – just a couple of metres from his own goal-line.

However, he too instantly turned defence into attack with a brilliant score with Kevin Sinfield converting both.

As soon as Wakefield learned how to make that pressure tell, though, they began their own scoring spree with three tries in just eight minutes.

Centre Vince Mellars got on the end of Smith’s next kick to palm down for Ali Lauitiiti and he showed great hands to usher winger Ben Cockayne over at the corner.

When Chris Clarkson was penalised for a high tackle on Richard Mathers, Smith exposed the first of many alarming holes in the Leeds goal-line defence as the Australian scrum-half sliced over with an exaggerated sidestep which completely embarrassed Ryan Bailey.

A basic handling error by Darrell Griffin led to Wakefield’s third, although there was an element of luck when Mathers’s grubber kick ricocheted fortuitously off Rob Burrow for Dean Collis to score.

Sykes improved each time, though, to leave them 18-12 in front after just 24 minutes.

McDermott brought teenager Stevie Ward on at that point, abandoning his experiment of playing prop Bailey at loose forward.

It was nothing to do with changing tactics that got them level, though.

That was down to an awful error from their former player Mathers, the full-back who uncharacteristically fumbled Jamie Jones-Buchanan’s forced kick to allow the England second-row to slide over for a try.

It prompted rather cruel chants of “There’s only one Richie Mathers” from the South Stand, which would undoubtedly have hurt the Leeds fan.

To be fair to the Rhinos faithful, though, they afforded Lauitiiti the same chant when their former star put Wakefield ahead once more.

The revitalised Samoan has been a revelation in Wakefield colours this term and it was his deft kick that forced Hardaker into conceding a drop out.

In the resulting set, Lauitiiti then exploited more feeble line defence as he busted both Sinfield and Jamie Peacock – the England captain playing his 450th game – to stretch over on the last tackle.

Trinity forward Kyle Trout would do the same at the start of the second half, latching onto Aiton’s pass in front of the posts, to embarrass the hosts.

In between, Jones-Bishop’s second try after some slick build-up from Ward and Ablett had seen Sinfield level 24-24 at the break.

Wakefield then got their noses in front again through Trout only to see Aiton spill the restart.

Typically, as befitted this random match, Leeds immediately struck with Weller Hauraki arrowing over off Burrow’s short pass, Trinity suffering the same sort of goal-line fragility as their hosts.

Sinfield levelled again with his kick but, when the normally-assured stand-off threw a forward pass to waste another opportunity shortly afterwards, there seemed little chance of normality breaking out.

They did get their breakthrough when Danny McGuire’s grubber pierced Trinity for Jones-Bishop’s hat-trick on the hour but it was a sign of the nervousness in the Leeds ranks when Sinfield accepted a penalty four minutes later following some frustrated dissent from Mathers.

Wakefield knew if they got anywhere near Leeds’s line they would probably score and that was the case when another astute pass by Smith sliced them open far too easily for Oliver Wilkes to charge through another gaping hole in the 71st minute to create that frantic finish.

Beforehand, a minute’s silence was held for Bernard Prior, the former Hunslet, Leeds and Wakefield hooker, who died recently, aged 78.

Leeds Rhinos: Hardaker; Jones-Bishop, Ablett, Delaney, Hall; Sinfield, McGuire; Leuluai, Burrow, Griffin, Jones-Buchanan, Clarkson, Bailey. Substitutes: Ward, Lunt, Hauraki, Peacock.

Wakefield Trinity: Mathers; Fox, Collis, Mellars, Cockayne; Sykes, Smith; Amor, Aiton, Raleigh, Lauitiiti, Walshaw, Washbrook. Substitutes: Wood, Wilkes, Southern, Trout.

Referee: R Silverwood (Mirfield).