Huddersfield Giants 22-56 Leeds Rhinos: Brodie Croft scores four tries as Brad Arthur's side run riot and move to top of table
Leeds Rhinos head coach Brad Arthur was not impressed with his side's defensive efforts and says they were 'flat' in the changing rooms despite a strong win; Sky Sports is the only place to watch every Super League game live in 2026
Friday 17 April 2026 23:22, UK
Brodie Croft scored four tries as Leeds Rhinos cruised to a 56-22 win over Huddersfield Giants in round eight of Super League at the Accu Stadium.
The victory for the Rhinos moves them to the top of the Super League table on points difference, while the Giants sit in 11th.
Huddersfield came into the match on the back of wins against Wigan Warriors and York Knights following the sacking of their head coach Luke Robinson. Assistant coach Liam Finn has taken temporary charge.
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However, Leeds proved too strong a match to keep the streak going as the Rhinos made it three wins in a row of their own.
It was Huddersfield who looked like they were going to continue their winning run in the opening minutes when Lachie Miller kicked out on the full to get the contest going. From there, the home outfit went down the other end as George King barrelled over for an early lead.
Despite the positive start, it was then all the visitors as they scored quickly and without slowing down to have the match wrapped up before half-time.
Croft was the first try scorer for Leeds before Jarrod O'Connor used his game smarts to step through and put his side in front.
A nice pass from James McDonnell then sent Jack Bird in for a try before a monumental moment arrived.
Using his strength from close range, Super League top try scorer Ryan Hall picked up his 250th try for Leeds.
Miller than added to the rampant opening 40 by putting in a smart chip which he chased down himself.
The Giants managed to hit back just before the break when Jacob Dougles went over in the corner as they took a 28-10 lead in at half-time, much to the delight of their travelling support.
Leeds came back out and continued on as they had in the first half, Cameron Smith reaping the rewards from a lovely 40/20 by Jake Connor before Croft went in for his second.
It was not long before Croft was then in for his hat-trick but then Huddersfield hit back through Jacob Gagai who has been a bright light for an inconsistent Giants so far this season.
Maika Sivo then made sure to keep his try-scoring tally ticking for a remarkable 15th try of the season and Croft used his silky footwork to step through for his fourth.
Olly Russell managed to go over late for the hosts but it proved too late as they fell to defeat.
Arthur: Our defence was not good enough
Despite a strong showing with the ball in hand, Leeds Rhinos head coach Brad Arthur said his side's defensive showing requires more "urgency and desperation" and was "not good enough".
"We need to care a bit more about our defence. It's not good enough," he said.
"The boys were a bit flat in the sheds on the back of that defensive performance. For the majority it was good but we just lacked a bit of concentration and went to sleep at times.
"It has got to be more important to us. I am happy to support and back how we want to play. We want to move the ball around and play a bit of footy. But when something doesn't quite go our way and we turn the ball over not how we want to and we have got to defend it.
"That is the bit that we've got to do both sides of it. We need to be more resilient on our try line. We need to be more urgent with desperation. We just need to care more about our defence."
2026 Super League - key dates and what to look out for
- Super League in Paris: Sat Jun 6: Catalans Dragons v Wigan Warriors (Paris), 6.30pm UK (Sky Sports)
- Magic Weekend: July 4-July 5
- Rivals Round reversed: July 23-July 26
- Elimination Play-offs: September 19-September 20
- Play-off semi-finals: September 26-September 27
- Grand Final: October 3, Old Trafford.
Sky Sports will again show every game of the Super League live this season - including two matches in each round exclusively live, with the remaining five matches each week shown on Sky Sports+
