As the stands began to empty and the stunned silence at Headingley shifted towards murmurings of discontent and the occasional boo, there was a plea from Leeds Rhinos’ stadium announcer to hang around and greet the players after their final home game of the Super League season.
The reaction was muted at best. Leeds’ players retreated down the tunnel for an unexpected postmortem and by the time they returned, this grand old ground had emptied. It wasn’t supposed to be like this; a night which was supposed to be straightforward and lead to bigger and brighter things panned out in a way few would have imagined.
The end result? Leeds were 80 minutes away from securing at least one home playoff game for the first time in eight seasons, and the fight to finish second and get that all-important bye through the opening week of the playoffs would go to the final round. Now? The Rhinos may have already played their last home game of 2025.
Should results pan out a certain and not improbable way in the final eight days of the season, Leeds will finish a season that has been full of progression, hope and great optimism under Brad Arthur as low as fifth. That would mean an away tie in week one, and the prospect of a trip to the league leaders, Hull KR, in week two just to reach a Grand Final.
Leeds have made huge strides under Arthur but this was undisputedly their nadir. Many expected them to saunter past Catalans – whose own playoff hopes were over weeks ago – with minimal fuss. Perhaps some of their own players bought into that hype too, because Leeds looked laboured, sluggish and way off the standards we have come to expect.
“We were in positions where we could win the game but we find ways to lose them,” Arthur lamented post-match. “I felt like tonight, a few guys tried a bit too hard. We got a lot of moments wrong, a lot of big plays wrong and a lot of execution wrong.”
There can also be no doubting that Leeds lacked the influence and presence of their talismanic half-back, Jake Connor, too.
A minor rib injury robbed Leeds of their star man for the first time this season and goodness, his influence – or lack of – was felt here. Without Connor, the Rhinos lacked any level of composure with the ball and a cutting-edge he has so often provided. Catalans, in truth, didn’t have to be brilliant in attack to win.
That said, their defensive display deserved immense credit. Having struggled for most of this year, this was a performance that suggested their new head coach, Joel Tomkins, has something to work with going into 2026. “I know it’s been in us but I thought tonight was a special effort,” Tomkins said.
His side deservedly led 8-0 by the break to stun the home crowd. The only try came when Ugo Tison spotted a gap in the Leeds ruck to cross from dummy-half, before Guillermo Aispuro-Bichet added a penalty as half-time approached. In truth, Leeds mustered up nothing of any note.
That trend continued after the break, with Aispuro-Bichet adding another penalty to make it 10-0. Not even a run of four straight penalties and a sinbinning for Romain Navarrete could help the Rhinos over the line but they eventually found a glimmer of hope as Brodie Croft’s kick found Ryan Hall unmarked in the corner.
However, with six minutes left, Luke Keary forced a crucial error from the Leeds full-back, Lachie Miller, which afforded Navarrete a simple finish to put the game beyond the hosts. Croft’s try shortly after proved to be too little, too late: but by then, many of the home supporters had already begun to stream for the exits.
Arthur had spoken effusively this week about how all associated with the Rhinos deserved the chance to stage a playoff game for the first time in nearly a decade. It is out of their hands. If it wasn’t thrilling enough already, the race to jockey for positions going into the playoffs is now set for a gripping conclusion.