Round 13
Castleford Tigers 22 l. Leeds Rhinos 24

2009 engage English Super League Index [Table] [Draw] [Player Stats] [Club Headlines]

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

Last gasp penalty denies unlucky Tigers
Mon May 18, 2009
Source: www.superleague.co.uk

A last-gasp Kevin Sinfield penalty handed Leeds Rhinos a 24-22 victory over Castleford Tigers in a rain-lashed engage Super League thriller.

The scores were level when Michael Shenton was penalised for offside in front of the posts with five seconds remaining and Sinfield made no mistake.

Moments earlier Shenton had thought he had secured a point as Castleford hit back from 16-0 and 22-16 down to level in a scrappy but exciting encounter.

Leeds, looking to make amends for last year's shock loss at The Jungle, defied a thunderstorm to race ahead with early tries from Rob Burrow, Danny McGuire and Ryan Hall.

But with mistakes aplenty from both sides, the Tigers hit back to through Stuart Jones, Kirk Dixon and Rangi Chase.

A second try from McGuire put Leeds back in front but Shenton pounced on a loose ball to set up the tense finale.

There were patches of sunlight as the players warmed up but the kick-off was greeted by a huge crack of thunder and a sudden downpour.

Within minutes there were puddles on the pitch and handling conditions were extremely difficult.

The Tigers pressed in the opening minute and a Brent Sherwin kick forced a drop-out but Leeds quickly regrouped and snatched the lead after five minutes.

Burrow jinked his way through two tackles to gain a sight of the line and beat the defence to slide over and score despite losing his footing.

McGuire doubled the advantage moments later after Ryan McGoldrick lost the ball in a tackle from Jamie Peacock.

The stand-off scooped up the loose ball and raced over under the posts and Sinfield, having already converted Burrow's score, again added the extras.

Leeds suffered a double blow as Burrow and Scott Donald were forced off injured but a swift break yielded a third try inside the opening 11 minutes.

The visitors made light of the conditions as they spread the ball along the line and Keith Senior's smart inside pass allowed Hall to cut in from the wing and touch down.

Yet from a position of supremacy, Leeds slipped up as Hall turned villain by spilling the ball close to his own line.

Jones was the quickest to react and delicately kicked forward for an opportunist try.

Leeds thought they had hit back immediately as McGuire kicked through for Danny Buderus but the video referee ruled offside.

The Tigers pushed again and were rewarded for a strong spell of possession as Dixon slid over in the corner to touch down a Chase kick.

Cas levelled the match within four minutes of the restart following another Leeds handling error.

Carl Ablett had little chance of taking Luke Burgess's ambitious pass and Chase took full advantage by creating a gap with a superb dummy and splashing his way to the line.

Dixon added his second goal but Leeds stirred and forced themselves back ahead after a sustained spell of pressure.

McGuire's second try, however, owed a great deal to fortune as the stand-off's kick took a lucky deflection off Sione Faumuina and rolled invitingly for him to score.

Sinfield added his third goal but the Tigers hit back to level again 12 minutes from time.

Brent Webb slipped as he attempted to catch a towering Sherwin kick and Lee Smith was also unable to gather.

The onrushing Shenton made no mistake as he dived on the loose the ball for a try converted by Dixon.

Cas could have taken the lead for the first time from the restart as Brett Ferres broke the line but he was unable to find Jones with his pass.

As time ticked away both sides attempted drop goals, Sinfield having an attempt from halfway charged down and Sherwin missing the target.

A draw looked the likely outcome until a late McGuire kick caused chaos and Shenton was penalised after Sherwin lost the ball.


Headingley Insight: Leeds v Castleford
Fri May 15, 2009
Source: www.therhinos.co.uk

In this weeks edition of Headingley Carnegie Insight Head Coach Brian McClennan looks ahead to this Friday's game at Castleford Tigers, kick off 8pm.



HAVE YOUR SIDE BENEFITTED FROM THE REST LAST WEEK?
It has been really beneficial for us to have the long weekend break. The players have come back refreshed. We are mentally refreshed and we have trained well this week. We are looking forward to going to Cas and looking for a positive performance. Our training has been sharp and the players are happy so all in all we are satisfied with our preparations this week.

We have got great competition for places with a healthy squad to pick from and it is up to us now to take that forward into the game.

WILL YOU BE LOOKING TO BUILD ON YOUR WIN OVER CATALANS A FORTNIGHT AGO THIS FRIDAY?
Against Catalans we started to get some cohesion going and we came up with some nice plays to score some special tries. We were not far away from converting three or four more opportunities that could have been converted into points. We loosened up a bit defensively in the second half but we feel we can improve on that match. If we can do that we will be a tough challenge for anyone.

WHO DO YOU SEE AS THE DANGERMEN IN THE TIGERS SIDE?
Rangi Chase and Brent Sherwin are very creative for them but they also have Sargent taking the ball up well for them. They have threats across the field with Faumuina on the right edge and Shenton on the left edge. They are a skilful team and they play with their heads up and can pick out any opportunities very quickly.

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