Leeds recently beat second place Sheffield, and were hoping to solidify their place at the top of the table with a win over Hoppers. Hoppers were hoping to return back to winning ways, after suffering a loss way to Hull two weeks prior.

Hoppers did take an early lead, Josh Ree kicking a penalty under the posts just five minutes in.

Just three minutes later, Tykes scored their first try, with a well worked move, Kit Keith slipping around, before offloading to Adam Brown who ran in undefended.

Both teams held on strong, with defences coming out on top. Despite best efforts, neither team had a chance to really push towards the opposing try lines, as mistakes would creep in at key moments.

It wasn’t until just before half time that the next try was scored. Leeds pushed themselves towards the line, just coming short, before Keith threw a dummy to slip his way over.

Seven minutes into the second half and Tykes had a third, Brown helping to steer the maul over, before dotting down himself.

And after 50 minutes, a try scoring bonus point came Leeds’s way, the ball travelled across the backs, with an excellent passing move before Ewan Evans slid into the corner.

Hoppers did get a try of their own, Josh Longson finding a gap through after several strong runs saw them power their way up the pitch.

Leeds ran riot with three tries in the final 20 minutes, starting through Watts who ran the ball just short, before getting it to Tom Williams who cut his way through the defence for a fifth. Macnab then picked up a dropped loose ball on the half way line, and sprinted his way over for a sixth.

With the match coming to a close, Ewan Laughton stole the ball, before chipping over and offloading to Jack Smith who ran into the corner, and Watts converted to finish proceedings.

Preston Grasshoppers Head Coach Dan Orwin said it was the fine margins that put Leeds top of the table.

"You look at the first half, they entered our red zone twice, and scored twice," said Orwin.

"You look at how many times we got into the red zone and didn't score, you look at most of their tries and how they came from our mistakes.

"Being that bit more clinical and making the most of those mistakes are why they're top of the table."

Match report by Tom Kelly