Betfred Super League
Leeds (18) 34
Tries: Hankinson, Sivo 2, Connor, Handley Goals: Connor 7
Hull KR (2) 8
Tries: Booth Goals: Martin 2
Free-scoring Maika Sivo took his tally of Super League tries to 27 for the season with two in Leeds Rhinos’ emphatic 34-8 victory against champions Hull KR at Headingley.
Sivo touched down either side of the break to make it 15 tries in an unbroken nine-game scoring spree from the Fiji winger as the table-topping Rhinos moved two points clear at the summit.
Chris Hankinson had gone over for Leeds’ first try of the night, while Jake Connor landed two of his three first-half penalties before Sivo went over for the first time.
Sivo then added to Rhinos’ 18-2 half-time lead against a Robins side that had Rhyse Martin in the sin-bin.
And while Noah Booth hit back with a try soon after, Connor went over for a fourth Leeds try before the hour mark before Ash Handley completed the win.
Hull KR’s crushing defeat came just three days after it was confirmed Nathan Cayless will be the man to replace all-conquering head coach Willie Peters when he leaves the Robins for National Rugby League expansion club Papua New Guinea Chiefs at the end of the season.
For Leeds, a fifth successive win was also another statement victory after they beat Warrington Wolves 34-6 in a top-of-the-table showdown a week earlier.
There were emotional pre-match scenes at Headingley for what was Leeds’ annual Motor Neurone Disease (MND) Awareness game, with tributes paid to the late Rob Burrow – the Rhinos legend who died with the disease in 2024, aged 41.
Once the game kicked off, Hull KR showed ferocious intent against the competition pacesetters, who delivered a high-profile 58-6 thrashing of the Robins in Las Vegas in March.
So intense were the opening exchanges that the Robins pair of Tom Amone and Dean Hadley left each other with bloodied faces after clashing heads.
While Amone was able to return with bandages wrapped around his face, Hadley failed his head injury assessment and will now also miss next week’s derby showdown against Hull FC at Magic Weekend.
That adds to Hull KR’s list of injury woes, which grew for this game with Joe Burgess and Sam Luckley missing out.
After Connor traded penalties with Martin in a tense opening 30 minutes, the half-back threaded a grubber kick for Hankinson to pounce on for the game’s first try.
Sivo dotted down twice after that as Leeds quickly looked as if they would cruise to another big win against the Robins.
Booth’s try came as little consolation as Connor capped a stunning performance with a four-pointer of his own before Handley went over for a try that earned him his 500th Super League point.
Leeds Rhinos: Miller, Hall, Newman, Handley, Sivo, Croft, Connor, Oledzki, Levi, Palasia, Hankinson, McDonnell, Watkins.
Interchanges: Jenkins, O’Connor, C. Smith, Holroyd, Lumb.
Hull KR: Broadbent, Davies, Hiku, Gildart, Booth, Lewis, May, Hadley, Lawton, Amone, Whitbread, Batchelor, Minchella.
Interchanges: Martin, Dezaria, Leyland, Pangai Jnr, Hampshire.
Sin-bin: Martin (40)
Referee: Chris Kendall.