St Helens beat Leeds 32-18 to get back into Super 8s contention
Last Updated: 06/09/15 1:07pm
Reigning Super League champions St Helens took advantage of Leeds' Wembley hangover for the second year in a row to break their duck in the Super 8s with a 32-18 triumph.
The Rhinos, without injured trio Zak Hardaker, Kallum Watkins and Rob Burrow, looked a shadow of the team that thrashed Hull KR 50-0 in the Challenge Cup final as they missed the chance to cement top spot in the table.
Saints, who won 13-12 at Headingley 12 months ago, led from the third minute as they gained their first win in four meetings with Leeds in 2015 and halted a four-match losing run.
The visitors were boosted by the return of skipper Jon Wilkin and he scored the last of their five tries to clinch a win that should secure them a semi-final spot at the expense of Castleford.
Leeds, who brought in rookies Ashton Golding and Jordan Lilley on their 19th birthdays, were so clinical and ruthless at Wembley but all fingers and thumbs for most of the time at Headingley.
Half-back Danny McGuire set the tone in the third minute when he fumbled from a play-the-ball in his own 20-metre area and Saints forward Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook reacted quickly to pick up and get winger Tom Makinson over for the game's first try.
Leeds responded well, with full-back Golding racing onto McGuire's grubber kick only to be held up over the line, and front rower Adam Cuthbertson losing the ball in a charge for the line.
The Yorkshiremen lost talisman Jamie Peacock with a head injury but struck back on 17 minutes to level, with centre Jimmy Keinhorst, 18th man at Wembley, beating Adam Swift and Josh Jones on a weaving run to the line.
However, Saints regained possession from the restart and Jones went over at the corner after Leeds winger Tom Briscoe knocked down Joe Greenwood's initial pass.
Luke Walsh kicked a second touchline conversion and increased his side's lead to 14-6 after 30 minutes with a penalty after another Rhinos handling error.
It needed a huge slice of luck for Leeds to get back into the match just before half-time, with the video referees over-ruling James Child in adjudging that second rower Mitch Achurch had downward pressure as he stretched out for the line from dummy half.
Sinfield's second goal cut the deficit to two points but Saints stretched their lead to 20-12 four minutes into the second half when left winger Swift produced a superb counter-attack and, when he was brought down in Golding's valiant tackle, Walsh went through a bedraggled defence on the next play.
There was no way back for Leeds when full-back Adam Quinlan raced onto Travis Burns' inside pass to cut a swathe through their defence for Saints' fourth try on 57 minutes.
Substitute Mark Flanagan had a try disallowed and Jordan Turner lost the ball over the line as Saints enjoyed the momentum.
Winger Ryan Hall gave the Rhinos brief hope when he supported a break by Sinfield to score a third try but Saints had the final say when Wilkin swooped on the ball after prop Alex Walmsley had lost it in a two-man tackle just short of the line.
