Leeds climb to fourth with victory at Leigh
Brodie Croft's try sealed Leeds' victory
- Published
Betfred Super League, Leigh Sports Village
Leigh (8) 14
Tries: Hanley, Brand 2 Goals: O'Brien
Leeds (10) 22
Tries: Miller, Lisone, Bentley, Croft Goals: Connor 3
Leeds Rhinos climbed to fourth in the Super League table with a four-try victory at Leigh.
Trailing 8-0 after tries from Umyla Hanley and Keanan Brand, Lachlan Miller got them on the board before Sam Lisone's try put them ahead before half-time.
James Bentley's try just after the break extended the lead but Leigh responded with Brand's second try and twice went close to going back in front.
But it was the visitors who landed the decisive blow as Miller's break sent Brodie Croft over to clinch the win.
It moved Leeds above St Helens into fourth ahead of Saints' trip to Wakefield on Friday.
Leigh stay third after the end of a run of four straight victories, having last lost at the end of June - also against Leeds.
The hosts took the lead after 10 minutes when Hanley skipped his way into a gap and sprinted into the right corner, before Lachlan Lam's floated pass saw Brand score Leigh's second try after a strong carry from Isaac Liu.
Leeds responded through Miller, who arced a run across the defence, dummied and darted into half a hole to slide over.
And five minutes before half-time, the visitors went in front. From a fresh set five yards from the Leigh line, Lisone took a pass at first receiver and powered his way through three tacklers to score.
Leeds were much sharper at the start of the second half and, after just three minutes, extended their lead when Jake Connor, on the last tackle, floated a cross-field kick that Harry Newman climbed highest to take and offloaded inside for Bentley to go over under the posts.
The hosts responded with sustained pressure, and quick hands worked Brand into the right corner for his second try of the night.
Leigh thought they had retaken the lead when first Tesi Niu was held up over the line before Bailey Hodgson did touch down, only for the video referee to rule out the try for obstruction.
But any hope Leigh had of stealing a win in the final throes was dashed by Miller's dart through the defence and Croft's try in front of the travelling fans.
Leeds head coach Brad Arthur told BBC Radio Leeds:
"I've often talked about the character and fight in this team - and that's the most impressive thing at the moment.
"For the majority of the game, our footy was really good. If we could just take out five or six red-zone errors on tackle one, we're not doing a lot wrong.
"We gifted some cheap field position through some dumb things at times, but if we get rid of that we should be okay. A lot of positive signs and still lots to work on."
Leigh: Hodgson, Brand, Niu, Hanley, Charnley, O'Brien, Lam, Trout, Ipape, Ofahengaue, Halton, Hughes, Liu
Interchanges: McNamara, Mulhern, Davis, O'Neill
Leeds: Miller, Hall, Handley, Newman, Hankinson, Croft, Connor, Palasia, O'Connor, Jenkins, McDonnell, Gannon, Watkins
Interchanges: Bentley, Lisone, Cassell, Ackers
Referee: Jack Smith.