Widnes 23-6 Leeds: Vikings see off depleted Rhinos
By PA Sport
Last Updated: 25/02/18 9:28pm
Krisnan Inu scored two tries as Widnes took advantage of Leeds' injury woes to win 23-6 at Halton Stadium on Sunday.
Brian McDermott's side had lost on their previous three visits and they arrived on Sunday without 12 first team players following their trip to Australia for the World Club Challenge.
The depleted Rhinos produced a gutsy performance but Widnes eventually wore them down to earn their second win of the Betfred Super League season.
Joe Mellor put Widnes in front but Brad Dwyer darted over for his first try for Leeds to give the visitors a 6-4 half-time lead.
Inu went over and added two goals before Danny Craven's one-pointer ended the Rhinos' resistance.
Young hooker Danny Walker crossed and Inu scored his second to add gloss to the result and make it a weekend to forget for Super League's globetrotters following defeats for Wigan and Hull on their returns from Australia.
Leeds enjoyed a bright start but could not turn territory into points and Widnes quickly took the initiative.
Craven bombed a two-on-one chance and Inu dropped Tom Gilmore's high kick with the tryline begging before the Vikings broke through after 20 minutes.
Wellington Albert made an immediate impression after his introduction from the bench with a superb offload that created the space for Mellor to cruise over out wide.
Gilmore missed the conversion but Widnes had their tails up and looked set to extend their lead when Rhys Hanbury made a break through the middle, only for Ashton Golding and Harry Newman to deny Mellor his second try.
The Vikings continued to pile on the pressure but Leeds dug deep on their own line and then took a rare chance at the other end.
Dwyer had only been on the field a matter of minutes when he went himself from dummy half and showed impressive strength to touch down.
Kallum Watkins added the extras to nudge the champions ahead at half-time and they had a man advantage after Hep Cahill was sin-binned two minutes after the restart following a scuffle.
But Leeds failed to take advantage and Widnes retook the lead when Inu added the finishing touches to Gilmore's brilliant cross-field kick after Golding had pulled down Hanbury just short of the line.
Inu converted his own try to make it 10-6 and then added another two points from a penalty for a ball steal.
Leeds briefly threatened when Richie Myler had an effort chalked off for obstruction but there was no way back following Craven's drop goal.
Walker took advantage of tired Rhinos defence to go over from acting half before Inu's powerful effort rounded off a tough afternoon for McDermott's men.
