# 2015 Leeds Rhinos season

This article details the Leeds Rhinos rugby league football club's 2015 season. This was the Rhinos 20th season in the Super League. Leeds Rhinos were reigning Challenge Cup winners and became only the third team in the Super League era to win the treble, winning the Challenge Cup, Super League Leaders' Shield and the 2015 Super League Grand Final.

## Players
### Squad

* Appearances and points include (Super League, Challenge Cup and Play-offs) as of 10 October 2015.
| No | Player | Position | Previous Club | Apps | Tries | Goals | DG | Points |
| 1 | Zak Hardaker | Fullback | Featherstone Rovers | 31 | 13 | 9 | 1 | 71 |
| 2 | Tom Briscoe | Winger | Hull F.C. | 17 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 60 |
| 3 | Kallum Watkins | Centre | Academy | 32 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 80 |
| 4 | Joel Moon | Centre | Salford Red Devils | 32 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 60 |
| 5 | Ryan Hall | Wing | Academy | 31 | 22 | 0 | 0 | 88 |
| 6 | Danny McGuire | Stand Off | Academy | 34 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 68 |
| 7 | Rob Burrow | Scrum-half | Academy | 30 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 48 |
| 8 | Kylie Leuluai | Prop | Manly Sea Eagles | 22 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| 9 | Paul Aiton | Hooker | Wakefield Trinity | 27 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| 10 | Jamie Peacock | Prop | Bradford Bulls | 34 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| 11 | Jamie Jones-Buchanan | Second Row | Academy | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 12 | Carl Ablett | Second Row | Academy | 36 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 48 |
| 13 | Kevin Sinfield | Loose forward | Academy | 30 | 3 | 137 | 3 | 289 |
| 14 | Stevie Ward | Loose forward | Academy | 28 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 20 |
| 15 | Brett Delaney | Second Row | Gold Coast Titans | 26 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 16 |
| 16 | Mitch Achurch | Prop | Penrith Panthers | 20 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| 17 | Adam Cuthbertson | Prop | Newcastle Knights | 34 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 36 |
| 18 | Liam Sutcliffe | Stand-off | Academy | 15 | 6 | 25 | 0 | 74 |
| 19 | Brad Singleton | Prop | Academy | 34 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 36 |
| 20 | Jimmy Keinhorst | Centre | Academy | 17 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 24 |
| 21 | Josh Walters | Second Row | Academy | 12 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| 22 | Andy Yates | Prop | Academy | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 23 | Elliott Minchella | Loose forward | Academy | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 24 | Robbie Ward | Hooker | Academy | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 26 | Ashton Golding | Fullback | Academy | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 27 | Ash Handley | Wing | Academy | 20 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 52 |
| 28 | Rob Mulhern | Prop | Academy | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 29 | Jordan Lilley | Prop | Academy | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 30 | Mitch Garbutt | Prop | Brisbane Broncos | 14 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |

### Transfers

In
| Name | Signed from | Contract | Date |
| Beau Falloon | Gold Coast Titans | 1 Year | November 2015 |
| Adam Cuthbertson | Newcastle Knights | 4 Years | May 2014 |
| Jordan Baldwinson | New Zealand Warriors | 3 Years | June 2014 |
| Mason Tonks | New Zealand Warriors | 3 Years | June 2014 |
| James Duckworth | London Broncos | Loan Return | August 2014 |
| Jimmy Keinhorst | Wakefield Trinity Wildcats | Loan Return | September 2014 |
Out
| Name | Sold To | Contract | Date |
| Ben Jones-Bishop | Salford Red Devils | 3 Years | June 2014 |
| Brad England | Salford Red Devils | 1 Year | September 2014 |
| Chris Clarkson | Widnes Vikings | 1 Year Loan | September 2014 |
| Ryan Bailey | Hull Kingston Rovers | 2 Years | October 2014 |
| Ian Kirke | Wakefield Trinity Wildcats | 1 Year | November 2014 |
| Alex Foster | Featherstone Rovers | 1 Year Loan | November 2014 |
| Thomas Minns | Featherstone Rovers | 1 Year Loan | November 2014 |
| Jordan Baldwinson | Featherstone Rovers | 1 Year Loan | November 2014 |
| Mason Tonks | Featherstone Rovers | 1 Year Loan | November 2014 |
| Luke Briscoe | Hunslet Hawks | dual registration | January 2015 |
| Robbie Ward | Hunslet Hawks | dual registration | January 2015 |
| Rob Mulhern | Hunslet Hawks | dual registration | January 2015 |
| James Duckworth | Hunslet Hawks | dual registration | January 2015 |

## Competitions
### Super League

Table
| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Leeds Rhinos | 23 | 16 | 1 | 6 | 758 | 477 | +281 | 33 | Super League Super 8s |
| 2 | St Helens | 23 | 16 | 0 | 7 | 598 | 436 | +162 | 32 | Super League Super 8s |
| 3 | Wigan Warriors | 23 | 15 | 1 | 7 | 589 | 413 | +176 | 31 | Super League Super 8s |
| 4 | Huddersfield Giants | 23 | 13 | 2 | 8 | 538 | 394 | +144 | 28 | Super League Super 8s |
| 5 | Castleford Tigers | 23 | 13 | 0 | 10 | 547 | 505 | +42 | 26 | Super League Super 8s |
| 6 | Warrington Wolves | 23 | 12 | 0 | 11 | 552 | 456 | +96 | 24 | Super League Super 8s |
| 7 | Hull F.C. | 23 | 11 | 0 | 12 | 452 | 484 | −32 | 22 | Super League Super 8s |
| 8 | Catalans Dragons | 23 | 9 | 2 | 12 | 561 | 574 | −13 | 20 | Super League Super 8s |
| 9 | Widnes Vikings | 23 | 9 | 1 | 13 | 518 | 565 | −47 | 19 | The Qualifiers |
| 10 | Hull Kingston Rovers | 23 | 9 | 0 | 14 | 534 | 646 | −112 | 18 | The Qualifiers |
| 11 | Salford City Reds | 23 | 8 | 1 | 14 | 447 | 617 | −170 | 17 | The Qualifiers |
| 12 | Wakefield Trinity Wildcats | 23 | 3 | 0 | 20 | 402 | 929 | −527 | 6 | The Qualifiers |

#### Results

LEGEND :
* Win
* Draw
* Loss
| Date | Rnd | Home | Score | Away | Venue | Tries | Goals | Att |
| 8/2/15 | 1 | Hull Kingston Rovers | 30-40 | Leeds Rhinos | Craven Park | Briscoe, Sinfield, McGuire (2), Watkins, Hardaker, Singleton | Sinfield 6/7 | 11,811 |
| 13/2/15 | 2 | Leeds Rhinos | 38-6 | Widnes | Headingley Stadium | Hardaker, Hall, Cuthbertson, Briscoe, McGuire, Watkins, Sinfield | Sinfield 5/7 | 14,132 |
| 26/2/15 | 3 | Leeds Rhinos | 28-24 | Huddersfield | Headingley Stadium | Ablett, Cuthbertson, Hall, Briscoe, Aiton | Sinfield 4/5 | 12,878 |
| 5/3/15 | 4 | Hull FC | 12-43 | Leeds Rhinos | KC Stadium | McGuire (2), Singleton, Watkins, Leuluai, Burrow (2) | Sinfield 7/7, Sinfield 1 DG | 10,887 |
| 13/3/15 | 5 | Warrington | 18-6 | Leeds Rhinos | Halliwell Jones Stadium | Briscoe | Sinfield 1/1 | 10,075 |
| 20/3/15 | 6 | Leeds Rhinos | 26-14 | Wigan | Headingley Stadium | Cuthbertson, Handley, Singleton, Sutcliffe, Burrow | Sutcliffe 3/6 | 18,350 |
| 28/3/15 | 7 | Catalans Dragons | 22-38 | Leeds Rhinos | Stade Gilbert Brutus | Ablett, S.Ward, Singleton, McGuire, Sutcliffe, Watkins, Hardaker | Sutcliffe 5/7 | 8,876 |
| 3/4/15 | 8 | Castleford | 12-26 | Leeds Rhinos | The Jungle | Moon, Hall (2), S.Ward, Cuthbertson | Sutcliffe 3/5 | 11,323 |
| 6/4/15 | 9 | Leeds Rhinos | 48-22 | Wakefield Trinity | Headingley Stadium | Hall, Hardaker, Burrow (2), Watkins (2), Handley, Yates | Sinfield 8/8 | 17,608 |
| 12/4/15 | 10 | Salford | 18-28 | Leeds Rhinos | AJ Bell Stadium | Peacock (2), Handley, Burrow, Hardaker | Sinfield 4/5 | 4,000 |
| 17/4/15 | 11 | St. Helens | 16-41 | Leeds Rhinos | Langtree Park | Handley (3), Hardaker, McGuire, Sutcliffe, Moon | Sutcliffe 3/4, Sinfield 3/3, Sinfield 1 DG | 12,640 |
| 24/4/15 | 12 | Leeds Rhinos | 10-29 | Warrington | Headingley Stadium | Watkins, Achurch | Sutcliffe 0/1, Sinfield 1/1 | 17,430 |
| 30/4/15 | 13 | Huddersfield | 24-24 | Leeds Rhinos | Galpharm Stadium | Delaney, Ablett, Moon, Watkins | Sutcliffe 4/5 | 6,381 |
| 10/5/15 | 14 | Widnes | 38-24 | Leeds Rhinos | Halton Stadium | S.Ward, Moon, Watkins (2), Keinhorst | Sutcliffe 2/5 | 6,113 |
| 22/5/15 | 15 | Leeds Rhinos | 36-16 | Hull Kingston Rovers | Headingley Stadium | S.Ward, Achurch, Hall (2), Singleton, Sinfield | Sinfield 6/6 | 15,206 |
| 30/5/15 | 16 | Wigan | 27-12 | Leeds Rhinos | St James' Park | Cuthbertson, Moon | Sinfield 2/2 | 40,871 |
| 7/6/15 | 17 | Wakefield Trinity | 26-58 | Leeds Rhinos | Belle Vue | Sutcliffe (3), McGuire, Burrow, Ablett, Handley (2), Keinhorst, Singleton (2) | Sinfield 5/7, Sutcliffe 2/4 | 4,000 |
| 11/6/15 | 18 | Leeds Rhinos | 24-31 | Castleford | Headingley Stadium | Ablett, Hall, Cuthbertson, Keinhorst | Sutcliffe 2/3, Sinfield 2/2 | 15,089 |
| 21/6/15 | 19 | Leeds Rhinos | 32-20 | Hull FC | Headingley Stadium | McGuire, Moon (2), Keinhorst, Ablett | Sutcliffe 1/2, Sinfield 5/5 | 16,203 |
| 3/7/15 | 20 | Leeds Rhinos | 46-18 | St. Helens | Headingley Stadium | Watkins, Leuluai, Hall (2), Handley (3), Ablett | Sinfield 7/8 | 18,514 |
| 9/7/15 | 21 | Wigan | 26-24 | Leeds Rhinos | DW Stadium | Aiton, Singleton, Handley, Burrow | Sinfield 4/4 | 15,009 |
| 17/7/15 | 22 | Leeds Rhinos | 70-6 | Salford | Headingley Stadium | McGuire, Cuthbertson, Watkins, Delaney, Hardaker (2), Hall (2), Moon, Keinhorst, Walters, Ablett | Hardaker 9/13 | 14,190 |
| 26/7/15 | 23 | Leeds Rhinos | 36-22 | Catalans Dragons | Headingley Stadium | Briscoe (3), Garbutt, Watkins, Delaney | Sinfield 6/6 | 15,534 |

#### Super 8s

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Leeds Rhinos (L, C) | 30 | 20 | 1 | 9 | 944 | 650 | +294 | 41 | Semi-finals |
| 2 | Wigan Warriors | 30 | 20 | 1 | 9 | 798 | 530 | +268 | 41 | Semi-finals |
| 3 | Huddersfield Giants | 30 | 18 | 2 | 10 | 750 | 534 | +216 | 38 | Semi-finals |
| 4 | St Helens | 30 | 19 | 0 | 11 | 766 | 624 | +142 | 38 | Semi-finals |
| 5 | Castleford Tigers | 30 | 16 | 0 | 14 | 731 | 746 | −15 | 32 | |
| 6 | Warrington Wolves | 30 | 15 | 0 | 15 | 714 | 636 | +78 | 30 | |
| 7 | Catalans Dragons | 30 | 13 | 2 | 15 | 739 | 770 | −31 | 28 | |
| 8 | Hull F.C. | 30 | 12 | 0 | 18 | 620 | 716 | −96 | 24 | |
| Date | Rnd | Home | Score | Away | Venue | Tries | Goals | Att |
| 7/8/15 | 24 | Leeds Rhinos | 49-10 | Warrington | Headingley Stadium | Watkins, Briscoe, Hardaker (2), McGuire, Moon, Burrow, Ablett | Sinfield 8/8, Sinfield 1 DG | 13,118 |
| 14/8/15 | 25 | Leeds Rhinos | 25-18 | Wigan | Headingley Stadium | McGuire, Moon, Hall, Watkins | Sinfield 4/4, Hardaker 1 DG | 15,026 |
| 21/8/15 | 26 | Hull FC | 36-22 | Leeds Rhinos | KC Stadium | Handley, Ablett, Burrow (2), Hall, Briscoe | Sinfield 6/6 | 7,900 |
| 4/9/15 | 27 | Leeds Rhinos | 18-32 | St. Helens | Headingley Stadium | Keinhorst, Achurch, Hall | Sinfield 3/3 | 16,142 |
| 12/9/15 | 28 | Catalans Dragons | 46-16 | Leeds Rhinos | Stade Gilbert Brutus | Hall, McGuire, Moon | Sinfield 2/3 | 8,851 |
| 17/9/15 | 29 | Leeds Rhinos | 22-29 | Castleford | Headingley Stadium | Hall (2), Moon, Cuthbertson | Sinfield 2/3, Lilley 1/1 | 15,069 |
| 25/9/15 | 30 | Huddersfield | 16-20 | Leeds Rhinos | Galpharm Stadium | S.Ward, Briscoe, Hall | Sinfield 4/4 | 9,326 |

#### Playoffs

| Date | Rnd | Home | Score | Away | Venue | Tries | Goals | Att |
| 2/10/15 | Semi Final | Leeds Rhinos | 20-13 | St. Helens | Headingley Stadium | Hardaker, Hall, Watkins | Sinfield 4/4 | 17,192 |
| 10/10/15 | Grand Final | Leeds Rhinos | 22-20 | Wigan | Old Trafford | McGuire (2), Moon, Walters | Sinfield 3/4 | 73,512 |
2015 Super League Grand Final :
| Leeds Rhinos | positions | Wigan Warriors |
| 1. Zak Hardaker | Fullback | 1. Matty Bowen |
| 2. Tom Briscoe | Winger | 22. Dominic Manfredi |
| 3. Kallum Watkins | Centre | 14. John Bateman |
| 4. Joel Moon | Centre | 34. Oliver Gildart |
| 5. Ryan Hall | Winger | 5. Joe Burgess |
| 13. Kevin Sinfield (c) | Stand Off | 6. George Williams |
| 6. Danny McGuire | Scrum half | 7. Matty Smith |
| 30. Mitch Garbutt | Prop | 8. Dom Crosby |
| 7. Rob Burrow | Hooker | 9. Michael McIlorum |
| 10. Jamie Peacock | Prop | 10. Ben Flower |
| 12. Carl Ablett | Second Row | 11. Joel Tomkins |
| 15. Brett Delaney | Second Row | 12. Liam Farrell |
| 19. Brad Singleton | Loose forward | 13. Sean O'Loughlin (c) |
| 8. Kylie Leuluai | Interchange | 16. Sam Powell |
| 17. Adam Cuthbertson | Interchange | 17. Tony Clubb |
| 20. Jimmy Keinhorst | Interchange | 23. Lee Mossop |
| 21. Josh Walters | Interchange | 25. Larne Patrick |
| Brian McDermott | Coach | Shaun Wane |

### Challenge Cup

LEGEND :
* Win
* Draw
* Loss
| Date | Rnd | Home | Score | Away | Venue | Tries | Goals | Att |
| 16/5/15 | 6th | Leeds Rhinos | 48-16 | Huddersfield | Headingley Stadium | Watkins (2), Hall (2), Aiton, McGuire, Cuthbertson, Ablett | Sinfield 8/8 | 8,133 |
| 26/6/15 | QF | Hull FC | 6-24 | Leeds Rhinos | KC Stadium | Moon, Watkins, Hardaker | Sinfield 6/6 | 9,261 |
| 31/7/15 | SF | Leeds Rhinos | 24-14 | St. Helens | Halliwell Jones Stadium | Hardaker, Moon, Peacock, Watkins | Sinfield 4/4 | 11,107 |
| 29/8/15 | Final | Leeds Rhinos | 50-0 | Hull Kingston Rovers | Wembley Stadium | Delaney, McGuire, Briscoe (5), Singleton, Burrow | Sinfield 7/9 | 80,140 |

## Club vs. Country

As part of their 2015 Kiwi tour of England the New Zealand national rugby league team played a match against Leeds, winning 34 - 16. The match was the first time Leeds had played the Kiwis since 1992. The match celebrated the 125th anniversary of Headingley Stadium. Prior to the match, Leeds had defeated New Zealand once in eleven matches between the two teams.
LEGEND :
* Win
* Draw
* Loss
| Date | Competition | Vrs | H/A | Venue | Result | Score | Tries | Goals | Att |
| 23 October 2015 | Kiwis Tour | New Zealand | H | Headingley Stadium | L | 16-34 | Moon (2), Briscoe | Lilley (2/3) | 20,158 |
2015 Club vs. Country Teams :
| Leeds Rhinos | positions | New Zealand |
| Ashton Golding | Fullback | Roger Tuivasa-Sheck |
| Tom Briscoe | Winger | Jason Nightingale |
| Jimmy Keinhorst | Centre | Jordan Kahu |
| Joel Moon | Centre | Dean Whare |
| Ash Handley | Winger | Shaun Kenny-Dowall |
| Danny McGuire | Stand Off | Peta Hiku |
| Jordan Lilley | Scrum half | Tuimoala Lolohea |
| Kylie Leuluai | Prop | Jesse Bromwich |
| Robbie Ward | Hooker | Issac Luke |
| Mitch Garbutt | Prop | Ben Matulino |
| Adrian Morley | 2nd Row | Kevin Proctor |
| Josh Walters | 2nd Row | Tohu Harris |
| Adam Cuthbertson | Loose forward | Martin Taupau |
| Ali Lauitiiti | Interchange | Kodi Nikorima |
| Anthony Mullally | Interchange | Adam Blair |
| Mitch Achurch | Interchange | Sam Moa |
| Jordan Baldwinson | Interchange | Sio Siua Taukeiaho |
| Robbie Mulhern | Interchange | Alex Glenn |
| Brad Singleton | Interchange | Lewis Brown |
| Brian McDermott | Coach | Stephen Kearney |