One of two Friday night Super League instalments saw high-flying Leeds Rhinos host strugglers Salford Red Devils.
The Red Devils went into the game full of confidence after picking up just their second win of the season last weekend against Castleford Tigers.
Whilst you could see the improvements from the away side, it was the Rhinos who came away with a 42-6 victory at home, which takes them up to fourth in the table, leapfrogging St Helens.
Following the team news pre-match, here were the main talking points in the match between Leeds Rhinos and Salford Red Devils on Friday night.
Leeds Rhinos v Salford Red Devils talking points
Leeds clunky attack turned clinical
It certainly wasn’t the Rhinos’ best attacking display of the season. In the first twenty minutes, especially, they looked like they were trying to play too fancy, and Salford stuck to the basics instead. Their attack wasn’t as cohesive as it usually is, so maybe their game plan was to start quickly. Unfortunately, it just didn’t seem to work.
When they did finally click in the 18th minute, the ball went from one side of the pitch to the other, including both halfbacks drifting the ball across, and Alfie Edgell scored in the left corner. Just three minutes later, they repeated the same sort of motion, just making more metres down the pitch from the halfway line instead. However, five errors in the first half are too many for a side wanting to challenge at the very top.
A touch of Miller magic
The Rhinos came out for the second half with a bit more intent and oomph about them, with Lachie Miller looking particularly fired up. Whilst the first half was clunky, the second half was much more clinical, and Miller set it up. His try in the 45th minute in a gap created by Jake Connor gave Leeds a ten-point lead once again. That set the Rhinos up for an improved second-half performance against a tiring Salford side.
Whilst Connor definitely deserves his flowers this season, Miller has made a huge difference since his return from injury in round five and combined well with both Connor and Croft. When Leeds are at their best, it’s when all three are singing from the same hymn sheet. If one of the trio has a quieter game, the other two seem to respond. It does seem that Brad Arthur is managing Miller’s game time, though, as he came off the field for the final ten minutes, with Edgell moving to fullback.
Salford’s foundations are there
In the first half, the Red Devils decided to keep it simple: strong carries, long kicks, and solid defending. It was far from perfect, but when you’ve got a disjointed team, keeping the ball and making metres is the foundation to build your entire game on. They were pretty physical in their defence, particularly, and you can see what they’ve worked on in training all week, although word on the street (from Jon Wilkin) is that they’ve only had one training session this week. Their attack was sprightly, with Ryan Brierley’s solo effort a particular highlight in the first half for Salford fans, giving ‘rolling back the years’ vibes.
It was purely the second half where Salford’s energy levels seemed to drop, as Leeds came out for the second half all guns ablazing. Making multiple changes every week to the squad simply means they can’t create any combinations between players, but whoever’s putting the shirt on is giving 100% every week.
Lisone’s ball-carrying technique
Pundit Jon Wilkin questioned Sam Lisone’s ball-carrying technique after he barged into Salford’s Jack Ormondroyd. He went off for an HIA, which he later passed, but Wilkin stated that his technique should be looked at by the Match Review Panel. He shared that it’s the fifth time this kind of incident has happened because of the way the prop carries the ball. He said: “I’m not saying there’s any venom in it, he’s not intended to hurt anyone, but it’s dangerous.”
Video referee controversy yet again
The above Brierley try was not without some controversy, though. Referee Liam Rush sent it up to the video referee, Marcus Griffiths, as no try, but Griffiths saw enough to overturn it. Upon viewing, it did look like Brierley had touched down on the dead ball line, but it was marginal due to the blurry motion camera work. Brierley’s celebrations were subdued initially, and then both teams lined up for a tap restart. However, yet again, we’ve had too many video ref calls that are taking an age. Whilst we want them to get the correct decision, perhaps there should be a time limit.
Declan Murphy – a bright future
It might have been only his second game of rugby league, and his first start, but he didn’t look out of place in the Salford backline. He had to catch plenty of high bombs from the Leeds Rhinos kicking selection and managed to get under most of them. He’s got pace to burn, and there was a superb break from the young player just before half-time as he went 50m to score, but it was ruled out for obstruction, thanks to Chris Hill creating the gap for him to go through. There’s still plenty of his game to develop, especially in such a key rugby league position, but so far, it’s looking good for the youngster.
A debut for Leeds Rhinos youngster
Presley Cassell came on for the final twenty minutes of the match to make his debut, and the 18-year-old became the 108th Leeds Academy graduate to play for the club in Super League, which is an incredible stat. Due to Mikolaj Oledzki and Tom Holroyd’s absence, Cassell found himself with a spot on the bench. In his first carry, he gained a penalty, and the Rhinos went on to score from the very next set through James McDonnell. Cassell has the perfect opportunity to learn from Kallum Watkins in the loose forward role, and he’ll be another youngster to excel from the Rhinos’ academy production line. He’s a fearless young player, so it’ll be exciting to see how he develops in such a competitive Leeds pack.
A strong second 40 for the Rhinos 🦏#SuperLeague pic.twitter.com/CundjFj8xs
— Betfred Super League (@SuperLeague) July 18, 2025
