Super League: Leeds down St Helens 30-18 at Headingley
Last Updated: 18/03/16 11:03pm
Leeds put their Super League season back on track with a 30-18 win over St Helens on Friday night.
St Helens were on the ropes early on, as tries from Jamie Jones-Buchanan, Adam Cuthbertson and Liam Sutcliffe gave Leeds a 16-0 lead after 11 minutes.
But Saints then hit back, scoring two tries in four minutes at the beginning of the second quarter. The visitors took the lead shortly before half-time thanks to McCarthy-Scarsbrook crossing, but Carl Ablett erased his effort moments later to bring down the curtain on a frenetic half with Leeds 22-16 ahead.
The Rhinos held on to their lead and closed the game out, taking them to ninth in the Super League standings, while Saints will rue the poor start they made.
Leeds' incredible start to the game came when Ash Handley intercepted a soft kick and tore up the field before being tackled. The ball was sent to the right and a good offload from Keith Galloway released Jones-Buchanan for the opener.
Sutcliffe converted, and when Saints sent the restart kick out on the full, their problems were compounded by Adam Cuthbertson running a direct line off Beau Falloon before muscling over for a try under the poles.
Another conversion was slotted by Sutcliffe, but he missed the chance to convert his own try in the 11th minute, when a loose pass from Saints bobbled at the feet of Kyle Amor. Amor tried to kick the ball ahead but miscued it and Sutcliffe snapped the ball up to race clear of the defence. Despite the missed conversion, things were looking good for Leeds.
However Saints came back into it, with Amor making amends by latching on to a pass from Walsh to beat Ablett for the visitors' first try. Walsh then turned from provider to finisher as he threw a dummy close to the opposition line before brushing off the tackle of Falloon to bring his side within four.
In the 38th minute Saints were back in attack, and Walsh's footwork splintered the defence, with McCarthy-Scarsbrook bursting through before running around Hardaker for the score. Following the conversion, Saints led for the first time in the game.
But it was not to be the final try of the half, with Ablett taking an innocuous pass from Burrow before seeing off two defenders to open up a gap that he strolled through for a try with no time remaining in the half. With the conversion nailed by Sutcliffe, Leeds took a 22-18 lead into the break.
The second half started in much slower fashion than the first, with both sides providing more in defence. It wasn't until the 55th minute that Falloon found a gap behind the Saints defence with a probing kick, and Handley got on the end of it to stretch his side's lead to 28-18.
Saints threatened to come back at their hosts, but the Leeds defence of old appeared to be back, with each Saints attack coming to an end without putting points on the board.
The frustration began to tell, and after St Helens were penalised close to their own line, the Rhinos called for the kicking tee to make it a 12-point game after Sutcliffe's effort was converted.
Leeds held onto the advantage for the remainder, closing the game out for a relieving win in front of their home fans.
