| Betfred Super League |
|---|
| Leeds (8) 16 |
| Tries: Dwyer, Sutcliffe, Hurrell, Martin |
| Hull KR (14) 32 |
| Tries: Parcell, Linnett 2, Quinlan, Livett, Hall Goals: Hall 3, Drinkwater |
Danny McGuire delivered a masterclass to haunt boyhood club Leeds, guiding Hull KR to a priceless 32-16 win against their fellow strugglers.
On his 400th Super League appearance, the 36-year-old stand-off was at the heart of Rovers’ play, which brought about seven tries against the Rhinos.
Leeds managed four tries, but goalkicking let them down and they never quite got close enough.
Rovers stay 11th, a place behind Leeds on points difference.
With both these sides desperate for points at the wrong end of the table, even the television cameras were trained on events at Headingley despite the spice of a Saints-Wigan derby over the Pennines.
There were plenty of subplots too, notably Tony Smith – the man who set the Rhinos’ golden generation on their way to success in the mid-2000s, now in charge of a Rovers side containing no fewer than five ex-Leeds players.
It was Smith’s gameplan that worked best, Rovers cranked up the pace and worked Leeds over with quick rucks, dazzling angles and slick hands.
Matt Parcell scored against his parent club, while two-try Kane Linnett, Adam Quinlan, Harvey Livett and Craig Hall also popped over the whitewash.
Richard Agar was a frustrated man in the Rhinos coaching box, as his side were pieced apart at will.
Despite purple patches in both halves which brought tries for Brad Dwyer, Liam Sutcliffe, Konrad Hurrell and Rhyse Martin, their goalkicking was off, and this marks their fifth defeat on home soil this term.
Leeds Rhinos head coach Richard Agar:
“We were beaten by a better team. Our start was very poor, disrespecting the ball, but in particular some traits we’d been good at defensively – working hard on inside, staying connected – that was missing from our game.
“Our first 20 minutes hurt us, the first 10 minutes of the second-half, their halves have certainly handed it to us tonight.
“Our lack of turning up when we needed to defensively, and our lack of working together as a team really hurt us.”
Hull KR head coach Tony Smith told BBC Radio Humberside:
“They’re all important we’re trying to make each one important. It was a big victory for Danny McGuire, 400 games is remarkable and a big occasion for him.
“We haven’t made a big deal of it but he had a big influence on us on the field this week. But it’s not just about Danny, it’s about the badge, getting out there and doing our best.
“We got off to a really big start, we were on the end of a wrong performance last week and dominated, so it was important we didn’t get into that, we had to get on the front foot and I thought we did that really well.”
Leeds: Walker; Handley, Hurrell, Newman, Briscoe; Lui, Myler; Cuthbertson, Dwyer, Seumanufagai, Sutcliffe, Martin, Merrin
Interchanges: Lunt, Ferres, Smith, Donaldson
Hull KR: Quinlan; Hall, Linnett, Keinhorst, Crooks; McGuire, Drinkwater; Johnson, Parcell, Murray, Tomkins, Hauraki, Lawler.
Interchanges: Masoe, Garbutt, Atkin, Livett.
