Tom Briscoe stars as Leeds Rhinos beat Catalans Dragons
Last Updated: 26/07/15 8:15pm
Tom Briscoe marked his return to the Leeds side after injury with a hat-trick as the Rhinos secured top spot in Super League with a 36-22 victory over Catalans Dragons.
Briscoe returned following shoulder surgery that kept the winger sidelined since March but he continued his impressive early-season form by scoring three, taking his tally to seven in just six games this season as Catalans' miserable away form continued.
Their eighth-placed finish means they will face four away games in the Super 8s and with just one win on the road so far in 2015, their hopes of making the Grand Final look bleak after another indifferent performance away from Perpignan.
The torrential rain in West Yorkshire led to a host of handling errors early in the match, but Leeds managed to break the deadlock after four minutes when Briscoe crossed for his first of the afternoon, following some great work from Kallum Watkins on the short side.
Catalans were also struggling with the conditions, racking up four handling errors in the first 10 minutes alone, but when the Dragons were able to hold on to the ball they instantly posed a threat.
Two tries in four minutes turned the game on its head; after Scott Dureau's pinpoint kick found centre Tony Gigot to level it up at 6-6, the Dragons then took the lead when full-back Morgan Escare collected a pass from Dureau.
Leeds were also guilty of committing a series of knock ons as the half wore on, but they managed to regroup and go into the break in front. A fine sweeping move to the right sent Briscoe in for his second, before a short pass from Rhinos captain Kevin Sinfield sent Mitch Garbutt in for his first ever try at senior level.
The Rhinos' 16-10 half-time lead soon became 18-10 five minutes into the second half when Sinfield opted to go for goal following a spell of Catalans penalties. However, the Dragons responded well and after a break from Escare handed them the field position, they kept their cool and allowed Dureau to cross for a marvellous solo try to reduce the deficit to just two points.
Another penalty from Sinfield pushed the lead back out to four, before the Rhinos took control of the game with three tries in five blistering second-half minutes.
First, a Watkins break was finished well by the England international to extend the advantage, before further scores from Brett Delaney and Briscoe's hat-trick try sealed the result for the league leaders.
Catalans would register a consolation try late on through Gigot after great work from both Elliott Whitehead and Krisnan Inu, but that was as good as it got for the visitors - who finished just a solitary point inside the top eight after the first 23 rounds of the season.
