Super League: Leeds Rhinos 34-14 Castleford Tigers - Second-half upturn seals win

James Bentley's try seemed to give Leeds the buffer they needed, despite a late Cas fightback

Leeds finished Magic Weekend's opening day with an impressive second-half display to blow away Castleford.

Matt Prior spun across to put Leeds ahead but Jake Mamo breezed in off a smart short-side kick and Bureta Faraimo sneaked across for Castleford.

Ash Handley finished off a slick move to the left to put Leeds level after the break and Aiden Sezer extended the lead, darting through the Cas cover.

Richie Myler, James Bentley and Liam Sutcliffe tries sealed Leeds the win.

Late scores by Faraimo and Mahe Fonua for Lee Radford's Tigers were consolations, both squeezing in on the back of neat build-up.

Daughters Macy and Maya Burrow led the teams out as the sides both wore special 'Burrow 7' jerseys in the honour of Castleford-born Leeds legend Rob Burrow, who continues to fight his Motor-Neurone Disease diagnosis with dignity.

It was an arm-wrestle which followed, one in which the Tigers arguably just shaded in the first period, but Leeds then took control of in an impressive second.

Rohan Smith will have been impressed by their execution and timing, as they continually shredded Castleford's rear-guard with razor-sharp passing and line-running.

The mercurial Mamo was at heart of Cas' best work, scoring a try from Faraimo's perfectly-weighted kick and creating the position for creator to turn scorer for the second score.

Yet Leeds, who had earlier seen prop Prior pirouette his way through for a second, built pressure and tested the Tigers defence before a flurry of points.

Handley's 100th Rhinos try came on the back of a sweeping move which stripped the Cas defence of numbers, before Sutcliffe arced his way into space and slid in a kick for Myler to finish.

Bentley's score silenced the large contingent of Cas fans on the Gallowgate, even with 15 minutes left, as he sliced through on a fast, tight line to touchdown.

Sutcliffe's try was insult to injury for the Tigers, who had won their past three games, and Faraimo's try did little to change the result.

Tigers frustrations rose to the boil when influential half Aiden Sezer was pinged late on and prompted a scuffle, earning him 10 minutes in the sin-bin but Leeds held on despite a Fonua effort.

Leeds: Myler; Fusitu'a, Hardaker, Sutcliffe, Handley; Johnson, Sezer; Oledzki, O'Connor, Prior, Bentley, Martin, Smith

Interchanges: Dwyer, Donaldson, Gannon, Walters

Castleford: Evalds; Faraimo, Mamo, Fonua, Olpherts; Eden, Richardson; Griffin, Milner, Lawler, Edwards, Mellor, Westerman

Interchanges: Matagi, Smith, Watts, Martin

Referee: Ben Thaler

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