Rhinos extend their lead

Burrow: Crucial try

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Leeds strengthened their position at the top of Super League with a 36-22 victory over Hull KR at Craven Park.

The Rhinos ran in six tries, with Rob Burrow's tries either side of half time proving decisive after a tight first half.

David Mills had put Rovers ahead with a try in the 15th minute, but Leeds soon responded through Brent Webb and went in 12-10 ahead at half time after Burrow grabbed their second try.

Kyle Leuluai, Keith Senior and Matt Diskin also crossed for the champions, while Scott Murrell and Peter Fox replied with second half tries for the hosts.

The injury-hit Rhinos were poor in the first half, but they led 24-10 at the hour mark, only to allow play-off chasing Rovers to come back to within two points of them before veteran Senior put the game to bed with 13 minutes to go.

It was of huge credit to Leeds that they dismissed the absence of five international players to gain a 10th win of the season against a Robins side who remain on the fringes of the top six.

Webster worry

Justin Morgan's men now face an anxious wait to determine whether or not a wrist injury suffered by James Webster will rule him out of next weekend's Millennium Magic event.

Scrum-half Burrow was a vital cog in Leeds' renaissance here, scoring a try either side of the break to swing the momentum in favour of the Rhinos in front of a record 9,391 crowd in east Hull.

The home side deservedly went ahead when Paul Cooke fired a bullet pass into the chest of Mills, who battered his way over the line.

Cooke added the extras but Leeds soon made Ben Cockayne pay for a lack of concentration as Webb nipped into a gap vacated by the centre to pull his side back into the equation, with Kevin Sinfield's goal levelling the scores.

Two penalties from Cooke nosed Rovers back ahead, only for Burrow to dance his way through the home defence just seconds before the interval for a try against the run of play. Sinfield slotted a second goal to send Leeds in ahead.

They carried their upturn in fortunes into the second period too as Leuluai opened the half with a fine try which owed as much to his own endurance as it did to the two penalties which allowed his team to get close to the posts.

Burrow quickly swooped for a second try minutes later when he capitalised on Ben Galea's fumble to race free to the corner, but despite Sinfield's fourth conversion opening up a 14-point lead, Rovers roared back into the game as Murrell dragged his body over the line for a gritty try.

Murrell and Fox - two ex-Leeds players - then combined superbly to create a third home try. There appeared to be little on as Murrell chipped a kick into open space, but Fox rose the highest above Scott Donald to collect the ball and ground. Cooke converted to bring the scores to 24-22.

But with the momentum with Rovers, Senior - the league's record appearance maker - showed all his experience to chisel his way over the line, before Matt Diskin added a sixth try with three minutes to go.

Sinfield ended the night with an impeccable six goals from as many attempts.