Seventh placed Leeds Rhinos had a tenth-round date over the Pennines with ninth placed Leigh Leopards with the home side knowing that a win by thirteen points or more would see them take the Rhinos ladder place while a win for the visitors would see them into the top five and depending on points difference and other results, as high as third.

Both sides won last time out and came into tonight’s game evenly matched on paper, so much so that the bookies could hardly separate them and giving the home side just a two-point start on the handicap coupon.

Both coaches named an unchanged starting thirteen from last weekend, the Rhinos bringing Bentley onto the bench in place of Johnson while the Leopards fielded an identical seventeen.

It took less than a minute for the Leopards to get the first points of the game as Lachlan Lam put in a grubber kick to the left of the posts, Edwin Ipape on hand to ground. Ben Reynolds added the conversion for a 6-0 lead.

The second Leigh try came on ten, Lam again the provider as Kai O´Donnell had a two on one to cross off the short ball to crash over the line. Reynolds was unable to add the conversion but at 10-0 the Leopards were just far too fast for a sluggish Rhinos who were having another of their 2023 slow starts.

An Ipape scoot from acting half back saw Leigh register their third try as the Rhinos defence failed to halt the big man, three Leeds defenders being carried over the line but unable to stop the grounding. Reynolds hit the target with the conversion for 16-0 after eighteen minutes.

It was a horror show for the Rhinos, but a dream start for the Leopards.

Aggressive Rhinos defence prevented Ricky Leutele adding another try just before the interval, but as the Rhinos turned defence into attack, Nene MacDonald stripped the ball off Gareth O´Brien inside the Leopards half and two plays into the set James Bentley broke the line to score behind the sticks. On the half-time hooter Rhyse Martin added the conversion to narrow the deficit to ten points at the interval.

Leigh started the second half as they had the first, taking the game to the Rhinos.

Cam Smith went close on fifty-eight after a determined run by Martin, but the Leigh defence held firm. The Rhinos were finally getting some time with the ball in the Leopards half.

A high tackle by Bentley gifted Leigh another two points to extend the leading margin to two converted tries as Reynolds hit the mark with the penalty goal with fifteen minutes remaining.

A late hit on Lachlan Lam with five minutes remaining in the match enabled Reynolds to add another penalty goal and secure a fabulous win for the Leopards, their fifth of the season.

As the final hooter sounded Harry Newman picked up a nasty looking injury just to compound the Rhinos night of misery.

Leigh played to their game plan perfectly as they bombarded the Rhinos in the first half, but the Rhinos played their part in their customary manner as they failed to get off the bus in the first twenty and gifted the game to their opponents. Leigh go above the Rhinos in the table, on points difference, and prove that they are alooking like a reasonable outside bet for a play-off berth after taking some impressive scalps.

Leigh Leopards: O´Brien, Briscoe, Leutele, Hardaker, Charnley, Reynolds (4G), Lam, Amone, Ipape (2T), Mulhern, Holmes, O´Donnell (T), Asiata. Subs: Mellor, Seumanufagai, Wilde, Davis. 18th Man: Hanley.

Leeds Rhinos:  Myler, MacDonald, Newman, Martin (G), Handley, Austin, Sezer, Oledzki, O´Connor. Lisone, McDonnell, Tetevano, Smith.  Subs: Bentley (T), Sangare, Holroyd, Tindall. 18th Man: Johnson.

Half-Time: 16-6.

Full-Time: 20-6.

Score Progression: 4-0, 6-0, 10-0, 14-0, 16-0, 16-4, 16-6: HT : 18-6, 20-6 : FT.

Lead Exchanges: Leigh.

Referee: Ben Thaler.