Match Report – Leeds 24 – 16 St Helens

Micah Civo, Harry Newman, Chris Hankinson score tries, Jake Connor adds three penalties in Leeds Rhinos’ comeback Super League win over St Helens; Watch Catalan Dragons take on Wigan Warriors from Paris on Saturday from 5.30pm, Sky Sports+ Live (kick-off 6.30pm)

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Leeds Rhinos battled back to beat St Helens 24-16 at Headingley, with Micah Sivo’s late assist to secure victory in their top-of-the-table Super League clash

Leeds Rhinos fought back from eight points behind to beat St Helens 24-16 on Thursday to go top of the Super League table.

In a first half in which Leeds had a number of clear-cut chances but failed to take them, St Helens outscored their three tries to one, with Alex Walmsley, Kyle Feldt and Tristan Saylor all crossing for a clinical eight-point advantage.

Harry Newman added Leeds’ second try early in the second half – following Chris Hankinson’s first half effort – with a Jake Connor penalty in either half, meaning the contest was level at 16-16 going into the final quarter.

That’s how things stayed until seven minutes into the game, when Connor Saints’ David Klemmer kicked his third penalty of the contest for an unnecessary late shot on Hankinson to take the lead.

Micah Sivo continued his excellent form for Leeds this season with a late try to seal the win – scoring his 20th of the season, six more than anyone else in the league.

The win also ended Leeds’ 10-year winning hoodoo at Headingley, with Leeds’ third win in 24 meetings against their biggest rivals.

Despite Connor’s early penalty after a cynical foul on Hankinson, Saints were rewarded by Walmsley, who pounced on a fleet-footed Darryl Clarke offload.

Saints, however, were then on the back foot for a long spell, making repeated handling errors in their own half, but some stout defending held off their opponents, with potential tries from Ryan Hall and Civo denied for infringements in the build-up.

Leeds’ persistence paid off as Saints closed in the 27th minute, allowing Hankinson to score his 100th Super League goal, but fighting tooth and nail to establish an 8-6 lead, the hosts fell behind again after half an hour.

Leeds’ Chris Hankinson went over for their first try as a number of chances passed the hosts by in the first half.

Connor openly celebrated in front of the Saints after Hankinson scored but ate humble pie when Feld handed it back to him after barreling past the Leeds man to score on the right.

Jack Welsby’s Gruber then sat up perfectly to head home Seaman on his opposite knee as Saints went 16-8 up, but Leeds equalized soon after the restart.

Tristan Saylor was one of three first-half scorers for St Helens, as they raced to a 16-8 lead.

A wonderful kick forward from Connor gave Leeds possession deep in Saints territory and Newman dived from a bullet pass from Brodie Croft, Connor added the extra and then Calum Watkins’ second penalty of the evening with half an hour remaining.

The decisive moment came with seven minutes remaining when Hankinson was clean out late on by Clemmer, who was subsequently yellow carded, allowing Conner to boot the penalty.

Down a man in the 78th minute Saints were exploited as Civo scored his 20th try of the season on the left, Connor converting to finish with a dozen points.

Rowley: ‘Leeds’ field position has had an impact’

St. Helens head coach Paul Rowley to talk Sky Sports:

“We had a lot of adversity with field position. Leeds did a great job.

“Although they did a great job, I thought they also got a lot of free leg-ups.

“They camped there (in our half). And in the second half, you can’t underestimate the wind and the field position took its toll.

“I’m really proud of the performance, it was a good game overall, but we made some stupid mistakes at stupid times. We’ll hold our hands but the players definitely fought.”

Leeds hung in there to go top of the Super League and beat St Helens at home for the first time in a decade.

Arthur: We had to fight really hard – ‘we showed growth’

Leeds Rhinos head coach Brad Arthur to talk Sky Sports:

“We were good, but we weren’t great.

“It feels good to win a game where we had to fight hard.

“We were a bit disappointed at half-time. We didn’t make some big moments, again in the second half.

“They made the most of their opportunities. But it’s a growth of our team that we didn’t let our frustrations boil over.

“We stuck to it, kept trying to dominate field position and knew that if we did that, we would come away with the win.”

Olejski hailed the ‘solid performance’

Player of the match Mikolaj Oledzki to talk Sky Sports:

“I hope that game delivered.

“We expected a tough game. We tried not to mention last year’s game, which left a bit of a bitter taste.

“It’s a great two points for us. They’re a great team at St Helens, they always come forward.

“We were disappointed with the Wigan game, which was a good test to see where we are, but after a week off we put in a really poor performance today.”

‘Leeds were patient and ground the game out’

Sky Sports’ John Wilkin:

“Leeds had a bit of a disruption in the first half; they lacked a bit of concentration defensively.

“A few gaps in the first half cost them, but what we saw in the second half was that Leeds were patient and finished the game.

“They defended their way to victory.”

2026 Super League – Key dates and what to look out for

• Super League in Paris: Sat June 6: Catalan Dragons vs Wigan Warriors (Paris)6.30pm UK (Sky Sports)
• Magic Weekend: July 4-5 July
• Rival Round Reverse: July 23-July 26
• Playoff Elimination: September 19-September 20
• Play-off semi-finals: September 26-September 27
• Grand Final: 3 October, Old Trafford

Sky Sports Every game in the Super League will again be shown live this season – with two matches from each round exclusively live, the remaining five matches will be shown every week. Sky Sports+