A remarkable second half performance saw Leeds Rhinos Reserves defeat Castleford Tigers 28-16 at AMT Headingley after Chev Walker’s side trailed by eight points at the break.

In a contest that saw one side never take full control until the latter stages, fans arriving early at AMT Headingley were treated to a tussle between the two Yorkshire rivals from the first minute. Despite losing full back Dylan Hutchinson in the first minute, Leeds looked to gain an advantage when Jacob Stead charged down Jenson Windley’s kick, only for the ball to drop out of the back rower’s grasp for what would have been a certain try. Biding their time, an error from George Hill provided the Rhinos with the perfect chance to strike and Marcus Qareqare took full advantage as he was posted in the corner by an excellent pass from Harley Thomas.

Stunned momentarily, the visitors kept Leeds under control for most of the contest – an area where other teams have struggled previously as the Rhinos looked to continue a four game winning streak. On 15 minutes, Scott Murrell’s side found their first breakthrough when Corey Sharpe was first to take an offload from Jack Ashworth and the half back left Rhinos defenders behind him as he scored under the posts.

Almost immediately, Leeds responded to reestablish their lead. Using a high tackle on Joe Diskin to position themselves on the Tigers line, a last tackle kick was pushed back by Riley Lumb into the path of Zak Lloyd, who produced a remarkable deft kick forward for Ned McCormack to ground. No sooner had the home side set up to re-take the kick off, Castleford once again found a way to the line as Ben Dean took a pass from Sam Grice to wander over the try line in front of the Western Terrace.

With the score at 12-8 in favour of the away side, the Rhinos were pinning themselves in their own territory with errors and penalties – ill-discipline that the Tigers used to extend their lead with the break in sight. Tylor Sharpe’s pass over to winger Harrison Jewitt was lucky not to be intercepted by an outstretching Qareqare, but as the Leeds edge attempted to recover, the Castleford winger dumped an offload at the feet of James Cooke for an easy finish.

Leeds refused to lie down as a flurry of chances late saw Elliott Fox and Jacob Stead both come within inches of closing the scoreline, but half time whistle put an end to proceeding as the Tigers took a 16-8 lead into the break.

Most of the second half played out like the first, only the Rhinos showed spirit to keep fighting until the end. Both forward packs impressively had the measure of each other in a arm wrestle, but it was the outside backs that made the breakthrough for Leeds. After trying to weave his way through earlier in the half, Riley Lumb’s speed came in handy as the winger broke free to pass inside for Oliver Smart, whose unselfish offload put Harley Thomas over for an important finish.

Changes at half time had seen head coach Walker readjust his spine following the Hutchinson injury, and the Rhinos defensively showed more grunt as they withstood Tigers attack mostly on their own try line. As luck would have it, their efforts were rewarded when a game breaking try saw Lumb connect with Thomas’ kick through for the winger to take his tally to 15 tries in 2026 and give the Rhinos a lead they never lost again.

Joe Diskin’s first try of the game minutes later ended the contest as the hooker-turned-full back got two tries in the closing stages to seal the result. Fox’s drive out of dummy half saw Lloyd continue into the backfield before he offloaded for Diskin to finish under the posts to take the score to 24-16. After a spell of Tigers pressure, it was relieving when Diskin then combined with Harry Smith to ice the game with five minutes to go as the Rhinos took home a 28-16 triumph and fifth consecutive win.

Teams

Rhinos Reserves

1. Dylan Hutchinson, 2. Marcus Qareqare, 3. Jacob Hardy, 4. Ned McCormack, 5. Riley Lumb, 6. Harley Thomas, 7. Harry Smith, 8. Joe Butterfield, 9. Joe Diskin, 10. Tom Nicholson-Watton, 11. Jacob Stead, 12. Oliver Smart, 13. Zak Lloyd

Subs: 14. Elliott Fox, 15. Hughie Tinkler, 16. Ashton Robinson, 17. Harvey Butterworth (18th Man – Kai Irvine)

Tries: Qareqare (7), McCormack (21), Thomas (51), Lumb (63), Diskin (66, 75)

Goals: Lloyd 2/5, Thomas 0/1

Tigers Reserves

1. Tylor Sharpe, 2. Harrison Jewitt, 3. James Cooke, 4. Ben Deane, 5. Alfie Lindsey, 24. Jenson Windley, 6. Corey Sharpe, 15. Jack Ashworth, 9. Alfie Horwell, 30. Jimmy Beckett, 11. Sam Grice, 12. Alfie Salmon, 13. George Hill

Subs: 14. George Power, 15. Harry Egley, 17. Harrison Simpson, 19. Leo Evans (18^th Man: Jack Brown)

Tries: C.Sharpe (15), Dean (26), Cooke (30)

Goals: C.Sharpe 2/3