Leeds’ late surge snatches top‑two edge at DIY Kitchens Stadium

Leeds Rhinos edged Wakefield Trinity 24‑22 at the sell‑out DIY Kitchens Stadium, a match that saw them move four points clear in the Betfred Super League with five games remaining. The crowd of enthusiastic Rhinos supporters celebrated the dramatic finish that resembled a Grand Final.

Wakefield dominated the opening half, racing to a 16‑0 lead after three tries all converted by Jack Sinfield, who also added the extras. Their early pressure forced Leeds onto the back foot and set the tone for a high‑stakes top‑two encounter.

The first‑half onslaught continued with Isaiah Vagana crossing for a try after a clever Sinfield kick, followed by a bullocking run from Caleb Hamlin‑Uele that broke two tackles before offloading to Jayden Myers, who finished in the corner. These four early Tries – Vagana, Hamlin‑Uele, Myers and Sinfield – underscored Wakefield’s commanding start.

When the second half began, Wakefield extended their advantage further when Sinfield wrestled the ball over the line for another try and then added the extras, keeping the score at 22‑0 and maintaining early dominance.

Leeds finally sparked hope when Brodie Croft struck his 25th Super League try of the campaign, narrowing the gap and prompting Jake Connor to slot the conversion. The Rhinos’ momentum began to shift as they clawed back into the contest.

James McDonnell then bullied his way through the home defence for a try, with Connor adding another goal, and Cam Smith, soon to join Wakefield next season, powered through for a further try, again converted by Connor. The deficit was reduced to four points, signalling a stunning second‑half comeback.

With 77 minutes on the clock, Connor’s grubber‑kick was pounced on by Chris Hankinson to level the scores at 22‑22. Connor then calmly kicked the extras from five yards inside the touchline, sealing a memorable success for Leeds.

Wakefield head coach Daryl Powell told BBC Radio Leeds: "I am obviously disappointed. We had an excellent first half and I didn't think Leeds deserved that at the end but they got it. After we scored that try in the second half we just made too many errors. We gave penalties away and yardage. There are some key lessons in big games to take away. It took until the last three minutes to reel us in and while you could see it coming I still felt we had a fair bit of fight about us. If we improve on that we can be a threat at the back end of the season. The clarity of thought under pressure was not there, but play like we did in the first half, we will take a little bit of dealing with. They have a lot of attacking threats and we dealt with them."

Leeds Rhinos head coach Brad Arthur added: "It was an incredibly tough, gritty and [we showed] plenty of character in the second half. It was not our best performance by any means but it was probably exactly the game, the 80‑minute game, that we needed. We have had everything pretty much our way for a long time and that was the first time in a long while we have been properly tested. We had to fight and get put under pressure and we had to get our composure back. We got kicked down, punched to the ground, and we had to get back up on our feet and we did that on several occasions. They are a really good side, they threw everything at us. It is nice to come out on the right side but we still have a fair bit of work to do. Our young blokes stood up well. There might have been some questions at half‑time – are these blokes tough enough? We showed that we were." Leeds remain four points clear with a points difference of over 200 on Wakefield and Wigan Warriors.