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Loan Watch | Seven Rhinos make impact across Super League and Championship outings

With no Reserves fixture last weekend, seven young Rhinos players got the opportunity to head out on short-term loan deals to gain extra game time elsewhere in Super League as well as in the Championship.

Presley Cassell, Ned McCormack and Riley Lumb spent the week bolstering Huddersfield Giants' numbers for the trip to Bradford Bulls, whilst Joe Diskin, Zak Lloyd, Tom Nicholson-Watton and Jacob Stead featured for Keighley Cougars and Hunslet for round seven of the Championship season.

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Bradford Bulls 26 Huddersfield Giants 14

In what turned out to be Luke Robinson's final match in charge of the Giants, Leeds trio McCormack, Lumb and Cassell all had strong outings as they faced Bradford Bulls in round five of the Betfred Super League.

McCormack and Lumb partnered on the right edge and played the full 80 minutes for Robinson. McCormack finished the game as the third-highest ball carrier for Huddersfield (16) and also made 77 metres and two tackle breaks. Lumb made 10 carries and 59 metres on a night that provided little opportunity for the winger.

Cassell was named amongst the substitutes and was one of the standout players for the Giants as he made the third most metres by a player in claret and gold. Amongst the substitutes, he made the most post-contact metres and was only matched by Fenton Rogers for carries as the youngster put in a professional performance on a tough night for the cowbell army.

Newcastle Thunder 44 Keighley Cougars 18

Sunday saw Jacob Stead and Joe Diskin run out for mid-table Keighley Cougars as Ian Hardman's side travelled north to take on Newcastle Thunder.

Coming into the game off the back of a win over Whitehaven and draw against Workington, the Cougars couldn't extend their unbeaten run as Thunder came through with a fourth win of the season to move up to sixth in the league table.

Tries from Harvey Reynolds, Jack Smith and Joe Law established a 16-6 lead at the break for Newcastle, before the Thunder finished the job in the second half with five more tries. Keighley managed to get a consolation score as Stead found his way to the line, but the result consigned Cougars to 11th in the table.

Both Stead and Diskin came off the bench in the game as they made their first Championship appearances of the season. Diskin played 47 minutes, made 22 tackles, and gained 61 metres in eight carries, whilst Stead featured for almost an hour and made 8 carries, 60 metres, 1 line break and 22 tackles.

Hunslet 24 Barrow Raiders 29

A valiant performance from Championship strugglers Hunslet saw Kyle Trout's side come close to a result against third-place Barrow Raiders in a great contest at the South Leeds Stadium.

With only one win so far this season, Hunslet looked out of the contest as the Raiders flexed their muscles in the first half. A fightback in the second half saw tries from Lee Gaskell, Billy Jowitt and two scores from Charlie Graham bring the club to within touching distance of a result, only for the full-time whistle to prevent what would have been one of the results of the season.

Heading into the game, Tom Nicholson-Watton and Zak Lloyd returned to the club for their second appearances for the Parksiders this season, as Nicholson-Watton earned a first start for the club, whilst Lloyd came off the bench.

Lloyd provided a handful of scoring chances - almost crossing before the Raiders established a 21-2 lead before combining with Dan Abram to put Graham over in the corner. Nicholson-Watton also posted a good performance in the front row, making 87 metres from nine carries and finishing the game with a tackle completion of 93%.