Leeds Rhinos sweep past St Helens to close on League Leaders' Shield

If you needed any further proof that Super League’s two most successful sides are travelling in different directions in 2026, this was about as conclusive as you can get.

There are two very different fates awaiting Leeds Rhinos and St Helens in three weeks or so. The Rhinos will now almost certainly be resting up for a Super League playoff semi-final, having earned a bye through the opening week of the playoffs by virtue of a top-two finish. They are still favourites to end the regular season on top after this latest impressive victory.

But the Saints, barring a late miraculous run of results involving themselves and the teams around them, will be resting up and preparing for 2027, with their 60-year record of making the end-of-season playoffs ending. After back-to-back wins in the last fortnight, you wondered if this was the night that St Helens could really make people sit up and take notice.

Win here, and they would not only dent Leeds’ chances of the League Leaders’ Shield, but they would put themselves right back in the mix for the top six. Instead, what we saw was an 80 minutes very much played out to the form of 2026 on the whole. The Rhinos were impressive, Jake Connor was sensational yet again and the Saints ultimately disappointed.

With two rounds to go, Leeds can now look ahead to what is in effect a decider for top spot next Saturday against Wigan. It is a playoff game before the playoffs start, and is a truly unmissable meeting of Super League’s two standout sides in 2026. “Next week decides the league leaders, and what a great position to be in,” Brad Arthur, the Leeds coach, said.

His side were very good again when it mattered. With Connor the influential figure throughout, he helped guide the Rhinos into an 18-0 half-time lead. Saints began brightly but couldn’t turn any pressure into points, and when Leeds forged attacking opportunities, they offered their great rivals a lesson in how to be ruthless, with Connor at the heart of it.

Tries for Chris Hankinson, Harry Newman and Cameron Smith before one for Ryan Hall shortly after the restart made it 22-0 in Leeds’ favour, and ended it as a contest with half an hour remaining. It all means that for St Helens, their destiny is now out of their own hands – and the chances of the top six look slim at best.

In all probability, they now have to win their last two games and win them well to stand any chance of making the playoffs. Their opponents are fifth-placed Leigh and sixth-placed Hull KR; and while both those sides lost themselves this weekend, this season has presented enough evidence to suggest Saints simply do not have the quality to drag it back from here.

“I’m really disappointed,” their interim coach, Eamon O’Carroll, said. “Not in the players, but for them. The start was what we wanted, it was attritional and we went after it but we lost some big moments after that, and Leeds showed their class.”

Australia’s coach, Kevin Walters, will take charge of the Saints in 2027 and were he watching this game, he would have seen first hand the size of the task that awaits. Jack Welsby’s magnificent solo try at least ensured Saints got on the scoresheet, but they ended with their worst post-war defeat to Leeds at home after Connor helped Leeds respond with a sumptuous kick for Ash Handley to touch down and put them back in control.

Connor’s boot then caused mayhem amongst the St Helens defence again to allow his half-back partner, Brodie Croft, to score his 28th try of the season. That made it 34-6 but by then the home support had already begun to filter away. Their season is ebbing away and is almost over: but in truth, Leeds’ may just be beginning.

St Helens Sailor; Douglas, Macdonald, Welsby, Cross; Robertson, Lomax; Suluka-Fifita, Shorrocks, Klemmer, Davies, Wright, Host. Interchange Walmsley, Humphreys, Keeley, Evans. Try Welsby. Goal Sailor.

Leeds Miller; Hall, Bird, Handley, Newman; Croft, Connor; Oledzki, O’Connor, Jenkins, Watkins, Hankinson, Cassell. Interchange Smith, Holroyd, Levi, Holroyd. Tries Hankinson, Smith, Newman, Hall, Handley, Croft. Goals Connor 5.