Huddersfield Giants 22 Leeds Rhinos 56

An entertaining night in round eight of the Betfred Super League saw Leeds Rhinos record one of their biggest wins of the 2026 season as they came away with a 56-22 result against Huddersfield Giants.

Man of the match Brodie Croft recorded four tries on a record night for the half back, plus Maika Sivo was back on form as the Rhinos moved temporarily back to the summit of the Super League table.

Following the Cup break last week, Brad Arthur made one change to the side that defeated Bradford at Odsal in Rivals Round. Keenan Palasia moved into the loose forward position for the first time this season in place of Kallum Watkins, who dropped to the bench. Having played in the lock position in 2025, Palasia had been used as a prop during the opening games of 2026 but got the opportunity to spearhead the forwards as Arthur rotated his pack. Elsewhere, the team remained the same as the Rhinos looked to move temporarily top of the table for a third time.

The home side shrugged off a winless start to the season as recent wins over Wigan and York had given Liam Finn’s side confidence coming into round eight, and a mistake from kick off by the Rhinos saw Huddersfield hit the front foot with a try after one minute. Miller’s kick to open the game sailed out over the dead ball line to hand the Giants an early chance to test Leeds’ goal line defence, and they took full advantage as George King crashed onto a short pass to score under the posts.

The Giants’ strong start was quickly dampened as two tries from the Rhinos quickly handed the lead to the away side. Tui Lolohea’s clever kick over the sideline pinned Leeds back inside their own 10 metre area, but sheer speed from the outside back corps got the Rhinos out of danger before a half break from Miller almost saw the full back escape Huddersfield’s grasp. Moving to the right side of the field, a well-timed pass from Jake Connor posted Brodie Croft through a gap for the half back’s seventh try of the season.

No sooner had they equalised, the visitors hit the front with a second score in quick succession. A similar restart to Miller’s kick off caught out Lolohea as the ball sailed dead, and after Tom Holroyd skittled defenders with a dominant carry, Jarrod O’Connor took full advantage with a dart out of dummy half for his first try of 2026. Connor converted both tries to make the score 12-6 as the all-Yorkshire clash began to heat up.

The Giants showed spirit but Leeds were starting to move through the gears as more points came off the back of Huddersfield’s mistakes. A forward pass by O’Connor was quickly forgotten as Maika Sivo swooped on a knock on by Jacob Douglas to start a counter attack, and another wide move through the hands of Connor and James McDonnell allowed the latter draw the Giants defence before offloading for Jack Bird to score his third try in as many games.

Another mistake from Douglas led to more points as Ryan Hall’s strong carry from a set scrum play saw the winger drive for the line himself to mark a landmark 250 scores in Leeds colours. Miller also produced a miracle solo try as another strong set ended in the full back chasing his own chip ahead to plant the ball down for a straightforward finish. Connor added to the Leeds lead from the kicking tee as a 28-6 lead put Arthur’s side firmly in control of the contest.

After substitute Cameron Smith was denied a sixth consecutive Leeds try – a forward pass in the build-up prevented the forward’s reaching finish from standing – the Giants made a late attack count through Douglas. Jacob Gagai threatened to open Leeds’ defence with a break as Finn’s side finally had a chance to attack after defending countless Leeds sets, before a move wide saw Douglas reach out to score in the corner. Lolohea couldn’t convert as the sides went into the break with Leeds 28-10 ahead.

Quick to establish their presence on the second half, Smith finally got his try off the back of a sensational length-of-the-field effort. McDonnell charged down Adam Clune’s attempted last tackle kick as the second rower’s offload sent Croft clear into the backfield. Great work from Bird, Miller and Handley continued the move out to Sivo,  but as the league’s leading winger couldn’t find room to work his way to the try line, the next play saw Smith break two weak tackles to get his first score of the season.

A second 40/20 kick of the year from Connor continued to keep Huddersfield pinned deep in their own half and Croft benefited as the half back sliced through to score -despite debate that the half back lost the ball in the tackle of Tristan Powell.

Nevertheless, the stand off’s third try wasn’t debatable two minutes later as Connor’s last tackle kick was knocked on by Gagai behind his own try line and Croft pounced to get the ball down for his second career hat trick.

The two league points were firmly confirmed for the visitors to The ACCU Stadium, but the points kept flowing as Leeds refused to be satisfied with 20 minutes left. More poor handling from the Giants from a last tackle kick should have seen Kallum Watkins mark his introduction to the action with a try, but the on-field call of no-try was upheld by the video referee.

A consolation score from Gagai on the hour mark pulled a try back for the home side, but a knock on by Swift saw the Rhinos respond swiftly as Sivo extended his lead at the top of the try scoring charts with a straightforward finish in the corner. With the half-century secured, Croft struck again with an arcing run back across the grain as the half back toyed with the Giants defence as he glided through for his fourth score of the night.

Russell added a fourth score of the night for the Giants off the back of a break from Clune, but even though Gagai had a late attempt to get a hand on a loose ball, the final whistle crowned a majestic 56-22 triumph for the Rhinos.

Teams

Giants

1. Niall Evalds, 2. Adam Swift, 3. Jacob Gagai, 5. Sam Halsall, 39. Jacob Douglas, 6. Tui Lolohea, 7. Adam Clune, 16. George King, 9. Zac Woolford, 14. Fenton Rogers, 11. Asher O’Donnell, 23. Chris Patolo, 8. Tristan Powell

Subs: 4. Taane Milne, 10. Tom Burgess, 20. Mattieu Cozza, 32. Oliver Russell (18^th Man – 13. Harry Rushton)

Tries: King (1), Douglas (39), Gagai (62), Russell (79)

Goals: Lolohea 1/2, Russell 2/2

Rhinos

1. Lachie Miller, 2. Maika Sivo, 4. Ash Handley (C), 33. Jack Bird, 5. Ryan Hall, 6. Brodie Croft, 7. Jake Connor, 10. Tom Holroyd, 9. Jarrod O’Connor, 15. Cooper Jenkins, 14. Chris Hankinson, 12. James McDonnell, 13. Keenan Palasia

Subs: 8. Mikolaj Oledzki, 11. Kallum Watkins, 17. Cameron Smith, 23. Danny Levi (18th Man – 20. Presley Cassell) 

Tries: Croft (8, 47, 49, 69), O’Connor (11), Bird (21), Hall (25), Miller (39), Smith (43), Sivo (65)

Goals: Connor 8/10