Round 26
Leeds Rhinos 18 d. St Helens 10

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

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

Leeds seal minor premiership in top of the table block buster
Sun September 6, 2009
Source: www.superleague.co.uk

England winger Ryan Hall grabbed a brace of tries as defending engage Super League champions Leeds Rhinos put one hand on the League Leaders' Shield held for the last four years by St Helens.

Victory in a gripping Grand Final re-match that lived up to all expectations in front of a 19,997 Headingley crowd took the Rhinos two points clear of their arch rivals with one round of the regular season left to play.

It means Leeds need only avoid a heavy defeat in their last match at lowly Salford Reds next Friday to ensure they go into the play-offs in pole position as they seek to wrap up a hat-trick of Super League titles.

The champions' victory owed much to the finishing of Hall, who has enjoyed a tremendous season and took his try tally in all matches to 30 by touching down in each half.

The early exchanges were typically fierce and Leeds had forward Jamie Jones-Buchanan placed on report for a crunching tackle on Saints front rower James Graham while centre Keith Senior was sin-binned two minutes from the end for punching his former England team-mate Jon Wilkin.

St Helens, who played Wilkin despite earlier ruling him out with a knee injury, took the lead despite being reduced to 12 men through the sin-binning of Leon Pryce for the most blatant professional foul imaginable.

A break by Danny McGuire left the Saints defence in tatters and, although Francis Meli managed to haul him down short of the line, Leeds seemed certain to score from the play-the-ball through Scott Donald until Pryce came from an offside position to make the tackle.

The Rhinos tried to make their man advantage count and worked Donald over at the corner only for slow-motion replays to show he had a foot in touch.

St Helens made the most of the let-off and opened the scoring against the run of play when Graham slipped the ball out of the tackle for onrushing second rower Lee Gilmour to power over for the game's opening try.

Kyle Eastmond added the conversion to put the visitors 6-0 up and, despite an overwhelming share of possession, it took Leeds until the 25th minute to draw level.

The Saints defence was superb but Rhinos second rower Carl Ablett eventually found a chink after livewire scrum-half Rob Burrow had been held just short of the line.

And Leeds' pressure told again just before half-time when veteran centre Senior got Hall over at the corner and Kevin Sinfield's second goal opened up a six-point lead.

Saints struck back seven minutes into the second half when a diagnal run from Eastmond dragged the Leeds defence out of position and a gap opened up for loose forward Chris Flannery to score their second try.

Eastmond was wide with the conversion but he was a handful for the Rhinos defence with his electrifying footwork.

Leeds went close at the other end and looked particularly dangerous through the probing runs of McGuire.

Substitute prop Ryan Bailey was held up on his back over the line but there was no stopping Hall once he was given a one-on-one against Ade Gardner and he duly crossed for his second try on the hour.

Sinfield was wide with the conversion but added a penalty six minutes from the end to give his side the cushion of a two-score lead.


Rhinos expect biggest home attendance for table topping clash
Fri September 4, 2009
Source: www.therhinos.co.uk

Leeds Rhinos are set for their biggest attendance of the season as they entertain St Helens in a table topping clash at Headingley Carnegie on Friday night.

Less than 2,000 tickets remain for the Western Terrace end of the ground with the South Stand, Carnegie Stand and Main Stand already sold out. The attendance will beat the previous best of 17,824 for the visit of Bradford Bulls back in June and could reach capacity at 20,500 come kick off.

Fans are being urged to purchase their ticket as soon as possible to avoid disappointment however at this stage fans will be able to pay on the night at the turnstiles to enter the Western Terrace, subject to availability.

The game will see the top two in the engage Super League go head to head. The Champions went top in their last game a fortnight ago and the winner of this game will be in pole position to claim the League Leaders Shield with just one game remaining in the regular season.

The match is a repeat of the last two Grand Finals, both of which the Rhinos have won, whilst St Helens have won the two previous meetings between the side's this season including a 22-18 win in the Carnegie Challenge Cup at Headingley Carnegie.

Commenting on the ticket news Marketing Manager Abigail Furniss said, "The game has been set up brilliantly with just points difference separating the two teams. We are expecting our biggest crowd of the season and it will be a great way to finish off our home campaign this year ahead of the start of the play offs in a fortnight.

"We have got a full night of entertainment planned for supporters including the return of the ever popular tenor John Innes before kick off. The players will do their traditional lap of thanks to the fans at the final hooter, as we always do at our final home game of the regular season, so hopefully it will be a night to remember," added Furniss.

Fans can purchase tickets by calling 0870 423 1315 or online 24 hours a day at www.therhinos.co.uk/buytickets

Fri September 4, 2009
• Headingley Insight: Leeds v St Helens
  

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