Leeds Rhinos give key update after worrying injuries to three players

Riley Lumb scored two tries as Leeds Rhinos won 32-6 at Salford - even without losing two key men to serious injuries - to secure their first victory of the season

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Leeds shrugged off a worrying injury to star man Brodie Croft to ruin Salford’s big day.

The former Man of Steel needed on-field treatment for more than ten minutes after copping a head hit just before the break.

Aussie stand-off Croft, sold in a big-money move from Salford to Leeds in 2023, was stretchered off and Red Devils’ Joe Shorrocks received a yellow card.

Leeds also lost co-captain Cameron Smith to a first-half ankle injury and scrum-half Matt Frawley suffered a gashed hand. But they impressively held their nerve to secure a first victory of the season.

Boss Brad Arthur said: “It was a tough win and the sort you really enjoy as a coach. Anything that could go wrong for us positionally did. [But] Crofty’s in good spirits which is great. When you have a player down that long it is a worry. His health is the main priority.

“I’m not sure with Cam [Smith]. He’s not optimistic with his injury. Frawls had eight stitches and it was a pretty bad gash.

“Ordinarily we probably should have kept him off but he’s tough and he wanted to get back out for his mates. The stitches split again during the game but he kept at and deserves credit.

“Morgan Gannon had to play all over for us and it’s these sort of wins that bring the group together. It was a big improvement from last week.”

Having seen their ownership takeover completed on Thursday - and a £1.2m sustainability cap finally lifted - Salford had hoped to celebrate in style. Boss Paul Rowley had controversially fielded a largely reserve team for last week’s record 82-0 defeat to St Helens.

But with the cap now back up to its full £2.1m limit, he changed the entire 17 with Marc Sneyd, Kallum Watkins, Tim Lafai and Chris Hill all making their first appearances of the season.

Ex-Leeds captain Watkins scored after just 90 seconds following Sneyd’s 40/20 kick, Sneyd converting. But young winger Riley Lumb, 20, excelled with two tries as the visitors rallied to lead 16-6 at the break.

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Second-row Gannon, who played as a makeshift half with Frawley and then Croft off, also crossed. After Ash Handley became the first Super League player to win a successful Captain’s Challenge, he fully benefited by scoring Leeds’ fourth try in the 50th minute.

Shorrocks’ afternoon went from bad to worse as James Bentley intercepted his dummy-half pass to score on the hour mark. Ryan Hall rounded things off, Jake Connor coming up with his third assist and finishing with four goals from eight attempts.

Rowley said: "We started really brightly but as seen in all games in Super League so far this season, rucks are really slow and what’s that doing is contributing to a real war of attrition.

“Leeds dominated, completed high and absolutely deserved the win. They’re a few games in and are a bit more battle-hardened. But in any big game it’s about doing it at a better standard for longer periods.

“We lost our way and looked out on our feet at the end. Absolutely shattered. We won’t win games at 65 percent completion."

On being able to get his full side out again after all the on-field drama, he added: "It’s been four months. I’m just a bit tired. It has been draining. And I don’t have to put the boots on. But We’ve got to catch up and catch up quick now.”