BBC SPORT | Rugby League | Super League | Rhinos hold off Wildcats

Wakefield 16-30 Leeds

Wakefield's relegation worries continue after their second-half fightback came too late to salvage anything against title-chasing Leeds.

Matt Adamson of the Leeds Rhinos
Leeds' Matt Adamson suffered a shoulder injury
The Rhinos raced into a 24-0 lead inside 16 minutes but the Wildcats dug deep and scored all the points in the second half.

Leeds ended the game with 12 men after ex-Wakefield prop Wayne McDonald was sent off on 77 minutes for punching.

The Rhinos also lost Matt Adamson with a shoulder injury and Tonie Carroll with a damaged leg.

In the early period of the game, Wakefield had no answer to the quicksilver handling of playmakers Ben Walker and Kevin Sinfield.

Leeds' Great Britain centre Keith Senior also caused the home side problems, scoring one try and set up another inside the first 11 minutes.

Ex-Wakefield forward Willie Poching did the early damage, carving out a gaping hole in the home defence to send scrum-half Ryan Sheridan over for the first try after only two minutes.

There is no questioning the spirit at this club

Shane McNally
Wakefield manager

Senior took Walker's accurate pass to scythe his way past scattered defenders for a second before accelerating through a gap and putting his winger Karl Pratt away.

And when prop Danny Ward crashed over five minutes later, with Walker kicking his fourth conversion, the game was as good as over.

It could even have been worse, with Carroll having two tries disallowed and Wakefield winger Kris Tassell coming up with a magnificent last-ditch tackle to deny Walker.

However, the Wildcats managed to stem the tide, with stand-off Martin Moana pulling a try back on 21 minutes.

Leeds added to their tally on 34 minutes when Sinfield produced a superb break in midfield to send substitute Jamie Jones-Buchanan over for his side's fifth try.

We have just got to learn to be a bit more composed when certain things don't go right

Daryl Powell
Leeds coach

Wakefield continued to battle hard but they suffered a blow 10 minutes into the second half when forward Dave Wrench had to be carried from the field on a stretcher.

Wrench, a former Leeds player, appeared to be a casualty of a spear tackle and referee Richard Silverwood put the incident on report.

It did not deter the Wildcats, however, and they scored a second try when left winger Andrew Frew leapt high in the air to take Davis' "bomb".

And they added further respectability to the scoreboard when promising prop Chris Feather powered his way over for a third try, to which Davis added his second goal.

Wakefield: Holland, Tassell, Ellis, Bird, Frew, Moana, Davis, Broadbent, March, Feather, Slattery, Field, Vowles. Replacements: Keating, G. Law, Handforth, Wrench.

Leeds: Cummins, Calderwood, Carroll, Senior, Pratt, B. Walker, Sheridan, Ward, Diskin, McDonald, Poching, Adamson, Sinfield. Replacements: Burrow, Jones-Buchanan, Bailey, Dowes.

Referee: Richard Silverwood (Dewsbury).