After securing a narrow opening weekend win over the Warrington Wolves, the Champions Leeds were at the unfamiliar surroundings of Elland Road for the return of Danny McGuire, playing for Hull KR against his former employers for the first time.
KR suffered and opening weekend defeat in a home game against the Wakefield Wildcats and after gaining promotion last season they were seeking a major scalp and their first points of the year.
The Rhinos were without Joel Moon, who failed a fitness test, which would see Liam Sutcliffe partner Richie Myler in the halves. Stevie Ward made his comeback from the bench after close season shoulder surgery. The Robins had just one starting line-up change with Chris Atkin in for Matty Marsh at scrum half.
It was difficult playing conditions from the first whistle with both sides making a number of early handling errors but Hull KR matched the Rhinos play for play.
On fifteen, Tommy Lee dropped the ball as he stooped to score on the Leeds line but two minutes later Ryan Shaw scored the Robins opener as he took a pass to go twenty metres off a Chris Clarkson break and pass. Shaw added the conversion, in off the far upright for a 6-0 which was far from undeserved.
On twenty Adam Quinlan hit KR’s second crashing over the line after taking a superb Atkin inside pass. Shaw missed a seemingly simple conversion but his side were 10-0 ahead.
As the half wore on the Rhinos were giving away unnecessary penaties but on thirty-two Adam Cuthbertson took a neat pass from Stevie Ward to go ten metres and score under the sticks. Richie Myler added the extra two to get the Rhinos back into a game where they’d been a clear second best.
Within two minutes Jimmy Keinhorst used great upper body strength to step inside and drag two KR tacklers over the line with him to level the scores. Myler failed to add the conversion and the sides were tied up at ten each.
The Rhinos had got themselves back into a game where they were second best for long periods and the Robins will have gone into the interval wondering how they’d thrown away a ten point lead.
Tom Briscoe knocked on a kick through on forty-one, and on the last tackle after gaining possession Chris Atkin kicked a drop goal to edge his side into a one point lead. In the following minutes KR really piled on the pressure as the Rhinos looked off-colour with KR on top of their game.
After absorbing twenty-six minutes of Robins pressure the Rhinos hit the front when Keinhorst hit a gap in the tiring defence off a Chris Ablett pass to shrug off an attenpted tackle and round behind the sticks for a four pointer. Myler added the conversion for 16-11.
On seventy-two Keinhorst completed his hat-trick when he was perfectly in position to take a Ryan Hall catch and pass to dive over in the left corner. Myler agains failed with the conversion but at 20-11, and with six minutes remaining, there was no way back for the Robins.
On seventy-seven, Shaw had a try harshly ruled out for KR after an obstruction on Ablett and the Rhinos ran down the clock for their second victory of the season.
This was far from a vintage Rhinos performace against a very creditable Hull KR side who will count themselves unlucky not to have taken the points. The Rhinos might have had one eye on tomorrow mornings early flight to Australia for the World Club Challenge, but all credit to the Robins for taking the game to the home side for extended periods of the game.
Rhinos: Walker, Briscoe, Keinhorst (3T), Watkins, Hall, Sutcliffe, Myler (2G), Cuthbertson (T), Parcell, Singleton, Jones-Buchanan, Ablett, Delaney. Subs: Mullally, Dwyer, Ward, Ormondroyd.
KR: Quinlan (T), Shaw (T, G), Heffernan, Minns, Carney, McGuire, Atkin (DG), Jewitt, Lee, Mulhern, Blair, Greenwood, Clarkson. Subs: Lunt, Masoe, Kavanagh, Walne.
Referee: Robert Hicks.
Half-Time: 10-10.
Full-Time: 20-11.
Attendance: 16,149.
