St Helens faced Leeds Rhinos in the final game of the first day of Super League Magic Weekend and here’s our verdict.
Questions had been asked of both teams ahead of this game, particularly whether Leeds could be contenders and whether Saints’ time as contenders had ended. Curiously though, both sides sat level on ten points but it was Leeds who moved to 12 as they defeated the Red Vee 17-4 in a gritty Magic Weekend win.
A slow start proved the undoing of St Helens but the controversial sin bin for Lewis Murphy in the second-half didn’t help either as the Rhinos outscored them three tries to one as yet more questions are asked of St Helens’ attack.
Paul Wellens had a major call to make in his spine amid calls for star signing Tristan Sailor to be dropped and captain Jonny Lomax to be recalled. The call he made was to stick with his spine of Sailor, Welsby, Whitby and Mbye, however, Lomax was recalled to the bench.
He was joined on the bench by Alex Walmsley and Daryl Clark with neither veteran starting, as George Delaney joined that experienced trio on the interchange bench. Recent recruit Deon Cross was also handed a debut in the centres.
As for Leeds, Brad Arthur backed Jack Sinfield once again whilst Ryan Hall was replaced by Alfie Edgell. Kallum Watkins got the first start of his second stint with the former Salford man starting at loose forward.
Here’s our verdict on the third game of Super League Magic Weekend.
More questions for St Helens after loss to Leeds Rhinos
Leeds got off to a flying start with the Rhinos breaking down their left edge and scoring through Riley Lumb as the young winger latched onto Morgan Gannon’s kick to make it 4-0 within three minutes.
Rhinos’ second would come down the right as Harry Newman shifted it to Alfie Edgell and the winger was supported by full-back Lachie Miller who dived under the sticks to make it 10-0.
Paul Wellens made his changes later in the first half with Jonny Lomax moving into the halves in a reshuffle that saw Tristan Sailor shift to the wing and Jack Welsby back to full-back, with Jon Bennison the man to make way and whilst they gained some control, they couldn’t claw any points back before the break.
It was Saints who scored first after the break and it came through Matt Whitley who broke through and beat the full-back to score, however, George Whitby couldn’t convert leaving it 10-4. Leeds looked set to hit back but makeshift winger Tristan Sailor jumped highest to make a brilliant intercept and almost ran the distance, but for Ash Handley’s tough defensive efforts.
Whilst it didn’t result in points, it did seem to spark a change in the game’s momentum but that was all removed when Lewis Murphy was sent to the sin bin after he jumped highest and saw his knee make contact with the head of Alfie Edgell in a completely accidental incident.
It was a controversial call and one that proved costly as Leeds went and scored a one-pointer through Jack Sinfield to make it a two-score lead at 11-4 whilst they had the man advantage.
Matt Whitley thought he’d scored a second but it was ruled out for a knock-on in the build-up and Morgan Gannon put the game beyond doubt with his late try to make it 17-4 and kill the game off.
Good day for
Jack Sinfield had a coming of age moment when he knocked over the drop goal to extend the lead from 10-4 to 11-4 with his sharp kick catching the Saints defensive line out and helping to make it a far more comfortable final 15 minutes for Leeds.
Bad day for
Paul Wellens will be scratching his head with what to do in his spine and he’ll be even more frustrated at how the 50/50 decisions went against his side, particularly the controversial Lewis Murphy sin bin. Heading into a week off, Saints will need to regroup.
Star man
Morgan Gannon is going to be some loss for Leeds Rhinos when he does depart for New Zealand Warriors at the end of the season. The second-rower continues to shine in all aspects, be it defensively or even offensively with the youngster registering a kick assist and a try tonight.
Teams
St Helens: Tristan Sailor; Jon Bennison, Deon Cross, Mark Percival, Lewis Murphy; Jack Welsby, George Whitby; Agnatius Paasi, Moses Mbye, Matty Lees; Curtis Sironen, Matt Whitley, Morgan Knowles
Interchange: Jonny Lomax, Alex Walmsley, Daryl Clark, George Delaney
Leeds Rhinos: Lachlan Miller, Alfie Edgell, Harry Newman, Ash Handley, Riley Lumb; Jake Connor, Jack Sinfield; Keenan Palasia, Jarrod O’Connor, Mikolaj Oledzki, James McDonnell, Morgan Gannon, Kallum Watkins
Interchange: Tom Holroyd, Sam Lisone, James Bentley, Cooper Jenkins
Here’s how the teams line-up for Game Three of #MagicWKND 👀
It’s @Saints1890 v @leedsrhinos under the Saturday night lights at St. James’ Park 🍿
The action continues live on @SkySports 📺#SuperLeague pic.twitter.com/7lo4IKfDwS
— Betfred Super League (@SuperLeague) May 3, 2025
