Leeds Rhinos U16 32 Bradford Bulls U16 0

Leeds Rhinos Under-16s capped off their season at Emerald Headingley with a 32-0 win over derby rivals Bradford Bulls Under-16s; Riley Lumb and Jack Sinfield leading the way with two tries each. Within the opening five minutes, the young Rhinos were already on the board through full back Lumb. A knock on by Bradford 30 metres away from their own line invited the home side to surmount an attack and as Jack Johnson and Tobias Gibson had been brought down short, a swift passing move between Jack Sinfield and Kyden Frater opened the Bulls' defence up and allowed Lumb to beat the tackle of George West and make it over the try line. It was a steady evening for Leeds, who showed flair going forward but mistakes meant they never fully dominated their opponents; only brilliant defence prevented Bradford from getting on the scoresheet at all. A spell of pressure for the visitors saw Leeds penned back in their own in goal area but mistake from Jake Goldthorpe-Smith proved costly as the Rhinos reclaimed the ball. From there, Mark Butterill's side pushed down the right side with Johnson, who broke free and then passed inside for Sinfield to finish under the posts. He converted his try to make the score 10-0. Cracks were beginning to show in the Bulls' line and after Frater had almost broken free down the edge, a great break by Tom Marris looked an all-but certain try for the centre, only for him to be denied by Connor Sayner at the last moment. With the Rhinos so close to the whitewash, they swung the ball out to Pattison but the pass wasn't great and the centre fumbled the ball on the ground, turning possession over to Bradford. Substitute Mark Nelson then made a break through the middle to put Leeds within range and, with a new set of six, Sinfield took full advantage; the half back wriggling free of the two Bulls defenders to plant the ball down. With half time in sight, the home side grabbed their fourth try through substitute forward Jude Thompson. Since Sinfield's second try, Bradford had almost managed to score in the corner through Shane Shann, but he was denied by the officials. Leeds went on the offensive and a clever fifth tackle kick from Sinfield pinned Sayner close to his sideline and Ben Findlay did a great job of taking his opposite number over the side of the pitch to earn Rhinos the ball again. Twenty metres away from the line, a drive from David Benson sounded the alarms for the Bulls before Thompson took a flat pass from Sinfield to power his way over. Sinfield converted to make the half time score 20-0.   Although Leeds made an electric start to the second half, both sides were careless with the ball, meaning that the next 40 minutes was fractured. A knock on from Paddy O'Reilly-Milner at the start of the half saw the Rhinos add to their scoreline; Harry Taylor taking a pass from Sonny Pattison to score in the corner. Bradford showed signs they could get a try as Sayner made a driving run down the edge but was tackled by Marris and Findlay. Full back George Flanagan was also very creative and looked dangerous on the front foot but Leeds' defence dealt with him well. With twenty minutes left, Leeds all but sealed the win as Ben Findlay added his name to the scoresheet. A knock from the play of the ball was a thorn in Bradford's side and with Mason Corbett calling the shots from hooker, Lumb tried to release Marris through a gap but the centre had the creativity to pass back inside for Sinfield, who then put a ball over the top for Findlay to slide over. The Bulls showed great energy and enthusiasm despite the scoreline as they looked to get on the scoresheet but more strong defence from the Rhinos ensured their line remained unpenetrated for the full eighty minutes. Following an attack that saw Jamie Gill denied, Leeds centre Pattison looked all but certain to score, only to slip at the last moment. On the fifth tackle, Sinfield kicked towards Flanagan but the ball came out of his hands and into the path of Lumb, who grounded his second try of the night. Sinfield was unable to convert, making the final score 32-0.