Round 14
Leeds Rhinos 58 d. Wakefield Trinity Wildcats 12

2008 engage English Super League Index [Table] [Draw] [Player Stats] [Club Headlines]

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

McGuire hat-trick inspires Rhinos to easy victory
Mon May 19, 2008
Source: www.superleague.co.uk

Danny McGuire claimed another hat-trick and skipper Kevin Sinfield equalled Andy Farrell's record of scoring in 48 successive Super League rounds as Leeds Rhinos surged seven points clear at the top of engage Super League.

Sinfield converted all six of his side's first-half tries, from McGuire (2), home debutant Eric Anselme, Rob Burrow, Simon Worrall and Keith Senior.

They were no more than Leeds deserved, such was their stunning superiority against a bewildered Wakefield Trinity Wildcats outfit who arrived at Headingley having won their previous six games in all competitions.

Further scores were added after the break by Carl Ablett, McGuire - who had also claimed a treble at Harlequins in the Carnegie Challenge Cup the previous weekend ? Matt Diskin and Senior in a 10-try romp.

But Sinfield's exploits earned him a place in Super League folklore alongside Farrell, an icon of the sport who achieved the feat with Wigan Warriors between May 1997 and May 1999 but who now looks certain to be surpassed by the Rhinos captain.

Leeds needed less than two minutes to pierce Wakefield's resistance, Ablett advancing forward at pace down the right flank before showing intelligence to find the onrushing McGuire to his left with a simple offload.

McGuire needed no second invitation to scamper clear to cross the line with the minimum of fuss and Sinfield added the first of his six first-half conversions.

The stand-off's try gave Leeds a platform on which to build and his mercurial partnership with Burrow drove at the heart of John Kear's side.

Opportunities came and were spurned by the Rhinos before Wakefield woke up and themselves enjoyed a spell of sustained pressure which reaped dividends midway through the half.

In the 20th minute they were celebrating when a delightful piece of dummy running from stand-off Jamie Rooney took him close to the line before a simple offload ushered Sam Obst under the posts.

Danny Brough converted to draw Wakefield level at 6-6 but the pendulum soon swung back towards Leeds and in the 23rd minute French forward Anselme collected a neat pass from McGuire and cantered over the line.

Shortly before the half hour mark Leeds had their third try when full-back Brent Webb broke from deep to send Burrow over for a simple score.

But the Rhinos were far from done as three further tries ? from McGuire, Worrall and then Senior ? capped scintillating moves and effectively killed off the dwindling threat of a stunned Wildcats side.

Wakefield were dogged and determined after the break but they were powerless to prevent the impressive Ablett crashing over in the right corner in the 53rd minute.

Sinfield could not convert from close to the touchline but shortly after the hour mark his astute offload sent McGuire clear for his hat-trick score.

Sinfield added the extras for his seventh goal from eight attempts and although Brough's 68th-minute try brought Wakefield brief respite, Diskin and Senior added further scores to take Leeds' try count into double figures, with Burrow converting both.

Report Source: www.superleague.co.uk


Headingley Insight: Leeds v Wakefield
Thu May 15, 2008
Source: www.leedsrugby.com

In this weeks edition of Headingley Carnegie Insight Brian McClennan looks ahead to his side's clash with Wakefield at Headingley Carnegie this Friday, kick off 8pm.

ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO PLAYING AT HOME AFTER THREE CONSECUTIVE AWAY GAMES?
After three weeks away from the home, the squad are really excited about playing in front of our own loyal and wonderful fans. We are back to action in Super League this week and we look at each game on their own merits. We are at home but we are up against a side who have won six games in a row. We are top of the table and we want to make sure that we stay there so there is plenty at stake on Friday.

HAS WAKEFIELD'S RECENT FORM SURPRISED YOU?
Wakefield have had more than their fair share of injuries this season and it is a tremendous credit to the spirit of their club that they have been able to produce such good form recently. Nothing surprises you when you have been in the game for a few years and Wakefield's form certainly has not surprised us, instead we acknowledge and congratulate them on their recent success and we know we will need to be at our best to take them on.

WHO ARE THEIR DANGER MEN?
Their half backs are a key part of their game. Brad Drew is back now and he will only get better with each game whilst Ryan Atkins is a real threat for them. They have got a lot of strike weapons across the field and they are "footie wise". They have got a lot of tricks and can score tries at the flip of a coin so we know we will need to defend really well.

HOW HAS YOUR SQUAD REACTED TO A TOUGH GAME AT QUINS LAST WEEK?
We had a really hard game at Harlequins. We used up a lot of gas and it is fair to say that the needle was on empty in the final five minutes. We have been careful with the players this week and tried to freshen up the team but we will only know if that has worked at 9.30 tomorrow night.

Our squad has started to get bigger for training this week as we welcome more players back from injury. Having some more bodies back around has made the competition even tougher for the first team however we will stick by our philosophy that whichever team we put out, that is our strongest team. We are fortunate that we now have 28 players to select from and no matter what side we put it, we can be confident in each other. That has helped us all season. When the young players come in it inspires the other guys to lift their level and likewise when an international like Gareth Ellis returns, like last week, it also gives everyone a lift.

News Source: www.leedsrugby.com

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