Leeds Rhinos got back to winning ways with a 26-22 victory over Warrington Wolves in round six of Super League at AMT Headingley Stadium.
Bringing a curtain down on Super League’s 30th birthday celebration with another contest that took place on the opening weekend back in 1996, Leeds battled hard to make sure it was not three defeats in a row.
Meanwhile, Warrington fell to their first loss of the season.
Warrington had a narrow lead at half-time thanks to an Ewan Irwin penalty conversion plus tries from Josh Thewlis and Jack Smith, Leeds hitting back through a Maika Sivo double for their eight points. Jake Connor was unable to convert either.
However, the second half saw Leeds take control. Sivo completed his hat-trick before Jack Bird and Brodie Croft went over. Connor also added a penalty.
The Wolves scored again through a converted Toby King effort and Smith’s unconverted second but it was not enough as they fell four points short.
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Super League All-Time XIII is revealed at Headingley.
Leeds show fighting spirit as Wolves suffer first loss
Warrington were unbeaten heading into this contest and their confidence showed, while Leeds Rhinos were looking to bounce back after their head coach Brad Arthur called their performance last time out “embarrassing”.
Despite the pressure on the home outfit, it was the Wolves who were on top early on. After eight minutes, pressure paid as Warrington earned a penalty which youngster Irwin slotted over for a 2-0 lead.
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Josh Thewlis opens the scoring for Warrington Wolves in their clash with Leeds Rhinos.
The easy metres continued for the visitors, their forwards helping them roll forward. That turned into points on the 20th minute with some Thewlis brilliance when he broke down the left edge and sent Lachie Miller walking with a dummy. Irwin could not convert as the lead stayed at 6-0.
Just six minutes later, Warrington were on the scoreboard once again, this time off the back of a magic Irwin 40/20. Warrington quickly sent it through hands and Smith had acres of space on the edge to walk in. Irwin converted this time for a 12-0 advantage.
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Josh Smith scores Warrington Wolves second try after a brilliant kick from Ewan Irwin.
Leeds continued to fight to get into the game and on the half-hour mark they did through Super League’s top try scorer Sivo, as he was on the end of a row of quick passes to use his power and pace to dive in.
On the stroke of half-time, Sivo was in once again in identical fashion in the corner. However, with Jake Connor unable to convert either, Leeds went in 12-8 down at the break.
Quickly after half-time, Leeds overturned their 12-point deficit when Sivo went in for his hat-trick in the 46th minute. This time, Connor put in a clutch conversion to move the Rhinos 14-12 ahead.
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Maiko Sivo scores his second try of the game for Leeds Rhinos in their Super League clash with Warrington Wolves.
However, it did not take long for Warrington to hit back. From close range, King just used his step and danced through the Rhinos’ defence, Irwin converting for an 18-14 lead.
The pendulum continued to swing as Leeds were next to go over. Bird bounced in on his home debut after an extended period of pressure, but with Connor skewing the conversion, the game was locked at 18-18 with 22 minutes remaining.
Leeds had more ball and opportunities and it finally paid dividends after 68 minutes when Croft used his silky footwork to go in under the sticks, Connor converting for a 24-18 scoreline.
Leeds then increased their lead when Keenan Palasia was hit high and Connor obliged with the boot to increase their advantage to eight points.
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Brodie Croft puts Leeds back ahead with a try in their Super League match with Warrington Wolves.
Warrington did get over once again on 76 minutes when Smith came up with a sensational dive in the corner for his second.
But, with Irwin unable to convert and the youngster then pinged for an obstruction with seconds on the clock, Warrington ran out of time to try and come back.
‘More like us’ – Arthur hails Leeds display
Leeds Rhinos head coach Brad Arthur, speaking on Sky Sports:
“That was more like us. It was gritty. A couple of errors, but nothing is going to be perfect in our game, and that is what the boys have to understand. We’ve got to enjoy winning by four or six points, we don’t have to win by 40 every week.
“Over the last couple of weeks, that has been our problem, when teams have a dig against us we’ve got to bite down because these teams are going to roll over. I liked our attitude towards how we needed to play today.
“I’m proud of the boys, but we shouldn’t have to be searching for responses every couple of weeks. We should enjoy winning and playing well. If we play well and get beat, I can live with that.”
2026 Super League – key dates and what to look out for
- Rivals Round: April 3-April 5
- Super League in Paris: Sat Jun 6: Catalans Dragons v Wigan Warriors (Paris), 6:30 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+
