Round 16
Leeds Rhinos 42 d. Warrington Wolves 26

2007 engage English Super League Index [Table] [Draw] [Player Stats] [Club Headlines]

Location: United Kingdom > National > First Grade Competition: engage English Super League

Leeds add to Warrington's woes
Mon June 4, 2007
Source: www.superleague.co.uk

Leeds Rhinos ran in seven tries to add to struggling Warrington Wolves' woes at Headingley Carnegie.

The Wolves produced a spirited display which included a hat-trick from wing Henry Fa'afili, but their defensive frailties were again brutally exposed by the rampant Rhinos.

This was Warrington's seventh defeat in eight engage Super League encounters but, despite being beaten once again, Paul Cullen's men deserved some credit for a performance which saw them run in five tries.

Indeed, they made a big contribution to an absorbing encounter and opened the scoring through Fa'afili in the third minute.

The New Zealander collected a pass from Ben Westwood and produced a delightful dummy which split Danny McGuire and Keith Senior and allowed him to scamper clear for a fine individual score.

Inspirational Wolves skipper Lee Briers quickly exerted his authority on proceedings with a series of probing kicks, but Leeds began to build up a head of steam.

And their first score arrived in the 15th minute when Rob Burrow combined with McGuire to send Senior over the line for his first try.

Three minutes later the Rhinos breached Warrington's line again as a piece of magic from McGuire outfoxed two opponents and allowed Webb to scamper clear for his 14th try of an increasingly productive season.

But the visitors continued to probe and Jon Clarke's long kick downfield was nudged forward and grounded by 19-year-old prospect Kevin Penny.

The score was awarded after a review from video referee Ian Smith, but Warrington's line soon began to lead a charmed life.

Indeed, it came as no surprise when Senior barged his way over on the half-hour mark to complete his brace, again after Smith was consulted.

McGuire looked to have all but secured victory for Leeds four minutes before the break when he broke clear for his side's fourth try - but Fa'afili's second on the stroke of half-time gave Warrington a perfect tonic.

Yet it was Leeds who began the brighter after the restart and a simple sequence of passing saw Burrow and McGuire work the ball out wide to Clinton Toopi, who grounded in the right corner.

Skipper Kevin Sinfield kicked his fifth goal from as many attempts and Leeds thought they had their sixth score when replacement Carl Ablett hacked forward and touched down, only to be denied by the video referee.

Shortly before the hour mark, Warrington hit back again when another clever grubber kick from Briers allowed Fa'afili to claim his hat-trick score.

Briers converted to cut the gap to 10 points but a mistake from Wolves rookie Penny allowed Webb to waltz through for his second try and academy product Ian Kirke claimed Leeds' seventh score.

Sinfield's flawless kicking gave him seven goals from as many attempts but Warrington had the final say when Penney's pace took him clear and Briers converted for his third goal from five attempts.

Report source: www.superleague.co.uk

Article: Cullen looks for positives


Headingley Insight: Leeds v Warrington
Fri June 1, 2007
Source: www.leedsrugby.com

In this weeks edition of Headingley Carnegie Insight, Leeds coach Tony Smith looks ahead to the Rhinos game against Warrington Wolves at Headingley Carnegie this Friday, kick off 8pm.

HOW TOUGH A CHALLENGE WILL WARRINGTON BE THIS WEEK?
Warrington have got a lot of quality throughout their side with a lot of experience and some very dangerous players in their ranks. They have shown on their day that they are as good as any team in the competition when they put things together. That is a phrase that could be applied right across Super League this season and I think it is giving us a great competition.

HOW PLEASING WAS LAST WEEKS WIN?
We were pleased with our performance in last week's win at Hull KR particularly considering the weather and how tough the opposition made life for us. They came into the game on the back of wins over Hull and Wigan and we did well to produce a good, solid win. We spoke after the game about how we could have played a more expansive game plan and lost in those conditions.

I have been very pleased with our defence over the last fortnight. To concede one late consolation try last week and just two tries at the KC Stadium, one of those off a kick and one off an obvious forward pass, is evidence, if it were needed, of the players spirit and commitment to each other.

Jamie Jones-Buchanan produced a very good 80 minute performance last week and has been playing well for most of the season whilst Kevin Sinfield showed his versatility and willingness to play a different role with some great skill at hooker. Jordan Tansey was another who caught the eye with some good moments including his try, his 40:20 kick and quality play around the field. The forwards in general laid a great platform for our win and stood up to be counted in some tough conditions.

DISKIN RULED OUT FOR RHINOS
Matt Diskin will miss the Rhinos clash with Warrington this Friday with Tony Smith naming an unchanged squad from that which beat Hull KR last week.

Diskin has been suffering with a groin injury for a number of weeks but is expected to be back available in the near future. Lee Smith, who was eighteenth man last week at Craven Park, is the only player added to those who were on duty last week.

The squad in full is:

1. Brent Webb
2. Scott Donald
3. Clinton Toopi
4. Keith Senior
5. Lee Smith
6. Danny McGuire
7. Rob Burrow
8. Kylie Leuluai
10. Jamie Peacock
11. Jamie Jones-Buchanan
12. Gareth Ellis
13. Kevin Sinfield (c)
15. Jamie Thackray
16. Ryan Bailey
18. Ian Kirke
22. Carl Ablett
23. Jordan Tansey
25. Ryan Hall

News sent by: www.leedsrugby.com

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