# 2011 Leeds Rhinos season

This article details the Leeds Rhinos rugby league football club's 2011 season. This is the sixteenth season of the Super League era.

## Key Dates
### February

* 13 February
Leeds beat local rivals Bradford Bulls 32–28 at Millennium Stadium with 4 tries in the last 18 minutes. Including a hat trick from Ben Jones Bishop with the hat trick coming from a penalty try in the 78th Minute.
* 16 February
Leeds "Fantastic Four" Kallum Watkins, Ben Jones Bishop, Ryan Hall and Chris Clarkson all sign 4 Year Contracts with the club.
* 18 February
Leeds Rhinos beat Hull F.C. 32–18 at the KC Stadium, with a 70-yard finish from Ben Jones Bishop potentially an early contender for try of the season.
* 24 February
Kevin Sinfield became a Rhino For Life, signing a 4 Year contract. Keeping the Leeds Rhinos captain at the club until the end of 2014.
* 25 February
Leeds Rhinos lost their first game of the season to high flying Harlequins RL, 2 tries from Quins hooker Andy Ellis won them the game, despite a strong start by Leeds Rhinos.

### March

* 5 March
Warrington Wolves overpowered a Leeds Rhinos team with only 2 first choice props available. Despite a strong start taking an 8-point lead the Wolves scored 28 points on the bounce, despite 3 late tries Leeds Rhinos lost 40–24.
* 11 March
The Rhinos managed to outclass a Salford side that started strongly taking a 6–0 lead. Leeds rallied and thanks to 2 tires from Carl Ablett, and classy performances from the likes of Kallum Watkins, Brent Webb, Rob Burrow and Kevin Sinfield winning the game 46–12. The only downside losing rising star Ben Jones Bishop with a dislocated shoulder. Brad Singleton also became Leeds Rhinos 50th Academy graduate to play for the club.

## League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Warrington Wolves (L) | 27 | 22 | 0 | 5 | 1072 | 401 | +671 | 44 | Play-offs |
| 2 | Wigan Warriors | 27 | 20 | 3 | 4 | 852 | 432 | +420 | 43 | Play-offs |
| 3 | St Helens | 27 | 17 | 3 | 7 | 782 | 515 | +267 | 37 | Play-offs |
| 4 | Huddersfield Giants | 27 | 16 | 0 | 11 | 707 | 524 | +183 | 32 | Play-offs |
| 5 | Leeds Rhinos (C) | 27 | 15 | 1 | 11 | 757 | 603 | +154 | 31 | Play-offs |
| 6 | Catalans Dragons | 27 | 15 | 1 | 11 | 689 | 626 | +63 | 31 | Play-offs |
| 7 | Hull Kingston Rovers | 27 | 14 | 0 | 13 | 713 | 692 | +21 | 28 | Play-offs |
| 8 | Hull F.C. | 27 | 13 | 1 | 13 | 718 | 569 | +149 | 27 | Play-offs |
| 9 | Castleford Tigers | 27 | 12 | 2 | 13 | 664 | 808 | −144 | 26 | |
| 10 | Bradford Bulls | 27 | 9 | 2 | 16 | 570 | 826 | −256 | 20 | |
| 11 | Salford City Reds | 27 | 10 | 0 | 17 | 542 | 809 | −267 | 20 | |
| 12 | Harlequins | 27 | 6 | 1 | 20 | 524 | 951 | −427 | 13 | |
| 13 | Wakefield Trinity Wildcats | 27 | 7 | 0 | 20 | 453 | 957 | −504 | 10 | |
| 14 | Crusaders | 27 | 6 | 0 | 21 | 527 | 857 | −330 | 8 | |
* ↑ Wakefield deducted 4 points for entering administration.
* ↑ Crusaders deducted 4 points for entering administration.

## 2011 results

| Date | Competition | Round | Home | Score | Away | Result | Venue | Referee | Attendance | Notes |
| 01/01/2011 | Trial Game | N/A | Leeds Rhinos | 40-22 | Wakefield Trinity Wildcats | W | Headingley Stadium | | 12,015 | Boxing Day friendly |

## Results

| Stadium | Team | Score | Try Scorers | Goal Scorers | Man of the Match | Referee | Attendance |
| Millennium Stadium | Bradford Bulls | W 32-28 | Ben Jones Bishop (3), Ryan Hall, Rob Burrow, Kylie Leuluai | Kevin Sinfield (4) | Ben Jones Bishop | Steve Ganson | 29,323 |
| KC Stadium | Hull F.C. | W 32-18 | Ben Jones Bishop, Ryan Hall, Rob Burrow, Weller Hauraki, Brent Webb, Chris Clarkson | Kevin Sinfield (3) + 1DG, Rob Burrow 1DG | Rob Burrow | Richard Silverwood | 12,513 |
| Headingley Stadium | Harlequins RL | L 26-36 | Chris Clarkson, Kevin Sinfield, Ryan Hall, Lee Smith, Jamie Jones Buchanan | Kevin Sinfield (3) | Kylie Leuluai | Ben Thaler | 14,350 |
| Halliwell Jones Stadium | Warrington Wolves | L 24-40 | Ryan Hall (2), Kallum Watkins, Brent Webb | Kevin Sinfield (4) | Kevin Sinfield | Steve Ganson | 11,438 |
| Headingley Stadium | Salford City Reds | W 46-12 | Carl Ablett (2), Brent Webb, Kallum Watkins, Jamie Jones Buchanan, Weller Hauraki, Ali Lauitiiti, Keith Senior | Kevin Sinfield (6) + 1 Penalty | Kallum Watkins | Thierry Alibert | 13,068 |
| Headingley Stadium | St Helens R.F.C. | | | | | | |
| Atlantic Solutions Stadium | Wakefield Trinity Wildcats | | | | | | |
| Headingley Stadium | Wigan Warriors | | | | | | |
| Craven Park | Hull Kingston Rovers | | | | | | |
| Headingley Stadium | Huddersfield Giants | | | | | | |
| Grattan Stadium | Bradford Bulls | | | | | | |
| Headingley Stadium | Crusaders Rugby League | | | | | | |
| The PROBIZ Coliseum | Castleford Tigers | | | | | | |
| Headingley Stadium | Catalans Dragons | | | | | | |
| Headingley Stadium | Warrington Wolves | | | | | | |
| Halton Stadium | St Helens R.F.C. | | | | | | |
| Headingley Stadium | Hull Kingston Rovers | | | | | | |
| Racecourse Ground | Crusaders Rugby League | | | | | | |
| Headingley Stadium | Bradford Bulls | | | | | | |
| DW Stadium | Wigan Warriors | | | | | | |
| Stade Gilbert Brutus | Catalans Dragons | | | | | | |
| Headingley Stadium | Hull F.C. | | | | | | |
| The Willows | Salford City Reds | | | | | | |
| Headingley Stadium | Castleford Tigers | | | | | | |
| Twickenham Stoop | Harlequins RL | | | | | | |
| Headingley Stadium | Wakefield Trinity Wildcats | | | | | | |
| Galpharm Stadium | Huddersfield Giants | | | | | | |

## 2011 Transfers in/out

Gains
| Player | Previous Club | Years Signed | Date |
| Ben Cross | Newcastle Knights | 2 | October 2010 |
| Zak Hardaker | Featherstone Rovers | 5 | October 2010 |
| Ben Jones Bishop | Harlequins RL | Loan Return | |
| Weller Hauraki | Crusaders RL | 3 | November 2010 |
| Rory Kettlewell | Wigan Warriors | 2 | December 2010 |
Losses
| Player | Future Club | Years Signed | Date |
| Greg Eastwood | Canterbury Bulldogs | 3 | October 2010 |
| Scott Donald | Retired | | |
| Matt Diskin | Bradford Bulls | 3 | October 2010 |
| Dane Manning | Batley Bulldogs | | |
| Zak Hardaker | Featherstone Rovers | Season Long Loan | 2011 |
| Tom Bush | York City Knights | 1 | November 2010 |
| Luke Ambler | Harlequins RL | Season Long Loan | November 2010 |
| Kyle Amor | Wakefield Trinity Wildcats | Loan | February 2011 |
| Ben Cross | Released | | June 2011 |
* ↑ Hardaker was recalled from his loan spell in March 2011.

## Player statistics

Source:
| No. | Player | Apps | Tries | Goals | DGs | Points |
| 1 | Brent Webb | 30 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 52 |
| 2 | Lee Smith | 17 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 24 |
| 3 | Brett Delaney | 27 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 16 |
| 4 | Keith Senior | 16 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 16 |
| 5 | Ryan Hall | 35 | 32 | 0 | 0 | 128 |
| 6 | Danny McGuire | 22 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 40 |
| 7 | Rob Burrow | 34 | 12 | 2 | 1 | 53 |
| 8 | Kylie Leuluai | 31 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 16 |
| 9 | Danny Buderus | 35 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 28 |
| 10 | Jamie Peacock | 23 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 11 | Jamie Jones-Buchanan | 34 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 48 |
| 12 | Carl Ablett | 31 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 36 |
| 13 | Kevin Sinfield | 36 | 2 | 160 | 2 | 330 |
| 14 | Ali Lauitiiti | 21 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 24 |
| 15 | Ben Cross | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 16 | Ryan Bailey | 25 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| 17 | Ian Kirke | 33 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 18 | Luke Burgess | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 19 | Kallum Watkins | 17 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 44 |
| 20 | Weller Hauraki | 27 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 16 |
| 21 | Chris Clarkson | 29 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| 22 | Jay Pitts | 13 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| 23 | Ben Jones-Bishop | 19 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 52 |
| 24 | Paul McShane | 18 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 20 |
| 27 | Zak Hardaker | 15 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 48 |
| 28 | Brad Singleton | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 32 | George Elliot | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |