Saints end Rhinos' run

St Helens ended Leeds' perfect start to the season as they ran out 26-18 winners at the end of a fierce contest at the GPW Recruitment Stadium.

Matt Gidley scored two of the home side's five tries as Saints gained revenge for defeat in last year's Grand Final at Old Trafford.

A brace from Rhinos centre Keith Senior on his return from injury turned out to be in a losing cause at the end of an epic 80-minute battle.

Both sides suffered for their efforts, scrum-halves Sean Long and Rob Burrow forced off through injuries, though the latter did return to the fray.

Pace

Looking for a sixth straight win, Leeds started out at ferocious pace, benefiting from some home handling errors to dominate the opening exchanges.

Paul Wellens and Ade Gardner were forced to work tremendously hard just to prevent goal-line drop-outs, helping Saints somehow survive the early onslaught unscathed.

Having weathered the storm at one end they then held onto the ball for long enough to break the deadlock at the other, Pryce sending centre Gidley through a gap for the opening try.

The Rhinos responded in the manner expected of champions, Senior sliding over on the left to join Keiron Cunningham as the only two players to score tries in all 14 seasons of Super League.

Kevin Sinfield converted from the touchline to level matters but two tries in the closing quarter of the opening half gave the hosts a crucial 18-6 advantage.

James Roby grabbed the first, accepting an inside pass from Chris Flannery to canter over, before Leon Pryce crossed just before the break to mark his 100th Saints appearance in style.

The England international somehow spun out of attempted tackles from both Sinfield and Carl Ablett to get over, Long's third successful conversion making it a 12-point gap.

A simmering battle between the top-flight's leading duo finally boiled over at the start of the second 40 minutes, Lee Gilmour becoming so annoyed with Lee Smith that the pair eventually ended up exchanging punches.

Within a minute the two sets of players were back at each others throats when Maurie Fa'asavalu was left flat on his back by a borderline hit from Ryan Bailey that left his opponent bleeding profusely from his nose.

Sensible decision

The Leeds forward was the main target the next time he got the ball before Brian McClennan, whose father used to coach St Helens, made the sensible decision to sub the player off before he got involved in anything else.

His actions had still fired up the home crowd and the cascade of boos from the terraces grew louder when Leeds winger Ryan Hall ran over untouched on the left.

Sinfield once again landed the extras, giving his side renewed hope of keeping alive their 100 per cent record as they trailed by just six.

But Saints were in no mood to suffer again at the hands of the Rhinos and the influential duo of Pryce and Flannery combined to set youngster Gary Wheeler scampering away to the corner.

Another flowing move allowed Gidley to complete his brace that sealed the result and despite Senior following the lead of his rival centre in getting a second try right at the very death, the Saints went marching level with their opponents at the top of the table, alongside Hull FC.