Round 17
Huddersfield Giants 12 l. Leeds Rhinos 25

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

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

Dramatic late blitz sees Rhinos defeat Giants
Mon June 18, 2007
Source: www.superleague.co.uk

Leeds Rhinos left it late but a stunning flurry of points sealed a dramatic engage Super League victory from an absorbing and at times controversial encounter against neighbours Huddersfield Giants.

The scores were tied at 12-12 with just five minutes remaining but skipper Kevin Sinfield landed a drop-goal from 40 metres before tries from Jordan Tansey and Scott Donald secured the points.

Leeds' large army of supporters departed the Galpharm Stadium happy after a success which, despite ultimately flattering Tony Smith's men, maintains the pressure on leaders St Helens.

Huddersfield, now winless in four games, had already been dealt a blow prior to kick-off when skipper Chris Thorman was ruled out after failing to shake off a leg injury.

Yet the Giants had only themselves to blame for the poor start which allowed Leeds to race 10-0 ahead after just five minutes through two Danny McGuire tries.

Huddersfield still looked to be in shock following their abject 52-20 Challenge Cup quarter-final surrender at Bradford Bulls last weekend.

And Leeds capitalised in the second minute when Clinton Toopi's neat underarm offload sent McGuire scampering over the line in the right corner.

Sinfield was unlucky to see his conversion rebound off a post but the visitors extended their lead in the fifth minute.

Robbie Paul, whose pedigree has never been in doubt after a glorious career with Bradford Bulls, was badly at fault with an uncharacteristic error.

The Kiwi had time and space to collect Rob Burrow's deep kick but a moment of hesitation gave McGuire the opportunity to hack the ball forward and cross the line.

Sinfield added the extras to give Leeds a 10-0 cushion but Huddersfield finally woke up and remembered they could actually perform.

Paul, who began at full-back, was pushed further forward and his intricate probing gave Huddersfield a period of sustained sustained which reaped rich rewards in the 10th minute when prop Paul Jackson grounded a teasing grubber kick.

Brad Drew landed the goal and despite a penalty from Sinfield giving Leeds further breathing space, Huddersfield continued to probe.

Another crafty kick from Drew was pounced on by Paul shortly before the interval but the Kiwi just failed to the ground the ball and Leeds survived.

They were not so fortunate seven minutes after the restart, however, as Paul and Drew combined to send centre Chris Nero bustling over the line.

Drew's conversion levelled the scores at 12-12 and shortly after the hour mark a last-ditch tackle halted Chris Reilly's progress in the right corner when a try looked a near certainty.

Sinfield and Drew both missed long-range penalty attempts in the 66th and 69th minutes respectively but the former kept his calm five minutes from time with a perfectly-executed drop goal.

That edged Leeds 13-12 in front and then Tansey, deputising for injured Kiwi Brent Webb at full-back, pounced on a McGuire kick to score before Donald did likewise from a kick from Sinfield - who converted both tries to give the visitors a flattering victory.

Report source: www.superleague.co.uk

Article: Smith denies Leeds nicked points


Headingley Insight: Leeds v Huddersfield
Sat June 16, 2007
Source: www.leedsrugby.com

In this weeks edition of Headingley Carnegie Insight Leeds coach Tony Smith looks ahead to the Rhinos game at Huddersfield this Sunday.

HOW HAVE PREPARATIONS GONE THIS WEEK?
We have had long time to prepare for this week with no game last weekend. That has given us a bit more time to get people back from injury and we are delighted to have Nick Scruton and Matt Diskin back available this week. Nick has played in the Senior Academy for a couple of weeks and he is showing good recovery from his foot injury whilst Matt's groin injury has cleared up with rest.

Although we didn't have a game last weekend we did not have time off and worked hard focussing on Sunday's game. We would rather have played and achieved whatever we could on the weekend, but that wasn't to be.

DO YOU HOPE THE WEEK OFF WILL BENEFIT YOU IN THE LONG RUN?
It is certainly something we had not planned on but it has happened now and we have to make the most of every opportunity this season. Super League is so competitive this year that you have to take advantage of the opportunity to freshen up the squad. It is a long, hard and challenging season and to be able to freshen up at this stage is good for us. It was something we didn't want to have, but we will use it to our advantage.

HOW HIGHLY DO YOU RATE HUDDERSFIELD?
They are one of the form teams in the competition and will looking to bounce back from defeat last week with a good performance at home. They gave us a tough examination at home earlier in the season and we are expecting the same on Sunday. They have got quality throughout the side and we will need to produce a quality performance if we going to get what we want out of the game.

News sent by: www.leedsrugby.com

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