Catalans Dragons 32-36 Leeds Rhinos: Highlights and match report

Remarkable, truly remarkable. Leeds trailed by 24 points and were a man down after Matt Prior was sent off only to battle back to 32-all with a Richie Myler hat-trick and a Brad Dwyer score.

After some back and forth in golden points in which Aidan Sezer missed a drop goal he would make amends with a match winning try in golden point.

It’s one of the all time great Super League comebacks if not the greatest. Not only did Leeds claw back a seemingly insurmountable number of points but to do it with a man down makes it special indeed.

As does the feisty brawl Leeds are bound up in the race for a spot in the playoffs. Surely now the momentum is with them.

Highlights:

Rhinos play frantic rugby to create Myler hat-trick
At 30-6 with 20 minutes to go and a man down, the game was all but over for Leeds until they started chancing their arm a bit more. Cameron Smith and Aidan Sezer both produced awesome pieces of play to create a quick fire Richie Myler brace before a James Bentley offload created his hat trick try.

Dwyer innovation after Bentley intercept
Myler’s hat-trick gave the thought of a comeback some credence but when Aidan Sezer burst through but was penalised for obstruction it looked like it was all over until James Bentley intercepted in the next minute. Then Brad Dwyer innovatively kicked ahead for himself to score and make it 32-30 late on.

Match Report:

Last week it was Leeds with the quick start but this time around it was them on the back of a fast start from the Catalans Dragons with Fouad Yaha crowning his comeback with a try.

Though Sam Tomkins missed the conversion this time around, he nailed a penalty shortly after to make it 6-0. The Dragons then went on to double their money as pressure mounted on the Rhinos due to a penalty before Benjamin Jullien went over to make it 12-0 after 19 minutes.

Things got worse for Rohan Smith’s men when luck conspired against them when a Josh Drinkwater kick bounced off a defender allowing Yaha to double his money making it 16-0.

Leeds did give themselves hope just before the break when Liam Sutcliffe took a ball behind his back before stretching out to score. Rhyse Martin’s conversion made it 16-6 at the break.

At the start of the second half, Tomkins nudged Catalans further clear with a penalty as Matt Prior was sin binned in the very first play of the second 40.

Things only got worse for the Rhinos with Prior as Sam Kasiano powered over to make it 24-6. The game was all but sealed then when Samisoni Langi was first to Drinkwater’s arrowed kick around the 50 minute mark.

If things weren’t bad enough, Matt Prior who’d only just returned to the field was then shown a red card for a high tackle.

That bizarrely sparked Leeds back into life with Cameron Smith soon setting up Richie Myler for a try by cutting back inside to break clear and tee up Myler. Smith did incredibly well timing the round the corner offload masterfully after the break not panicking at all.

Myler then made it two for himself on the night as he collected an Aidan Sezer chip over the top to make things nervous for the home side. That prompted the Dragons to go for goal once again to make it 32-18 though the Rhinos try scoring didn’t end there as Richie Myler made it a hat-trick off a James Bentley offload to make it 32-24 with nine minutes to go.

Seemingly game over when Aidan Sezer broke but was penalised for obstruction, but an intercept from James Bentley gave the Rhinos hope of a miracle and Brad Dwyer delivered picking up his own kick to score and give Leeds a chance at pulling off the impossible.

Then the impossible came as Rhyse Martin nailed a late penalty after a mistake from Tomkins. 32-all with a minute to go, Josh Drinkwater had a chance to win it but missed with his drop goal attempt.

So onto golden point where all the momentum was with the Rhinos on the high of clawing back 24 points to give themselves hope of a vital win in the playoff hunt.

In extra time, Catalans immediately gave Leeds a chance with a knock on but Aidan Sezer missed his drop goal attempt.

The movie script looked to have the wrong ending when the Dragons went down field themselves but fortunately for the Rhinos the Dragons let Leeds off.

From the penalty, Aidan Sezer proved to be the hero but not with a drop goal but with a try.

It was a great try to complete a great game. Dwyer again probed, offloaded to Zak Hardaker who found Sezer whose dummy opened up the Dragons as he made a dash for the line to win the game and imprint himself on Leeds fans’ hearts.