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Sivo scores hat-trick as Leeds flatten Warrington

Sivo scores hat-trick as Leeds flatten Warrington

Maika Sivo has scored 25 tries in this season's Super League

Tries:AshtonGoals:Irwin

Tries:Sivo 3, Croft, Newman, HankinsonGoals:Connor 5

Maika Sivo scored his fifth hat-trick of the Super League season as Leeds Rhinos won the top-of-the-table match against Warrington Wolves in emphatic fashion.

The Fiji international took his 2026 Super League try tally to 25 as the Rhinos dished out a 34-6 hammering to give dismal Warrington a first home defeat of the season.

Victory means Leeds go clear at the top of Super League, moving two points ahead of Warrington, who started the match level on points with the Rhinos. in second place on points difference.

Warrington chose a bad night to put in the worst display of their season at the Halliwell Jones Stadium with Leeds dominant with. without the ball.

And while there were solid performances through the whole team with the returning Lachie Miller superb. it was the irresistible force that is Sivo who was the diamond cutting edge.

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The Leeds winger's 25 tries put him nine clear of the next best, Leigh's Josh Charnley on 16.

In addition to leaving his mark on the game he left plenty on Warrington's bruised defence. including Josh Thewlis who felt the full force of Sivo as the winger powered past him to score his second.

When Warrington took two points early in the piece. Ewan Irwin kicking the goal, it was presumably in the belief this could have been a tight affair.

But two tries in two minutes from Sivo. Brodie Croft, who hassigned a three-year deal with Warrington starting next season, blew that plan out of the water and a third eight minutes later, Harry Newman gathering a high kick as Thewlis hesitated, really put the visitors in command.

Warrington were perhaps a touch unlucky that the Newman try stood with the Leeds centre looking a shade in front of the kicker when the ball went up. had that gone in their favour it would not have made much difference to the result.

Jake Connor kicked two of the conversions to give Leeds a 16-2 half-time lead. the direction of the game was set.

Miller, returning to the side after a three-match suspension was excellent, pulling the strings at full-back.

It was the Australian whose pass put in Chris Hankinson just three minutes after the restart. he then engineered a penalty when blocked by James Bentley two minutes later which Connor converted.

After Sivo secured his hat-trick shortly before the hour, Warrington staged a belated comeback in the final 20 minutes.

Matty Ashton finished off a nice move to give the home side their only try six minutes from time but it was too little too late. proved just a momentary pause in the Leeds celebrations.

Warrington head coach Sam Burgess speaking to BBC Radio Merseyside:

"They are a great side but I thought the first half scoreline didn't really reflect the game. They won three moments in breaking us down - it was a couple of kicked tries and a missed tackle.

"We did look clunky. I can accept that but they made us pay in the second half when they were by far the better side and when they get in a mood like that they are very hard to handle.

"I am quite happy they didn't get past 50. At a point in the second half everything was sticking, they were winning everything. every offload was going to hand and there was a point where I thought it could be very dangerous.

"So obviously I wasn't happy with 34 points but I was happy we strangled the game back.

"We had a tough night and they made us pay. We looked like a young team against a very experienced team but I'm relaxed about that. We were the second best team but it is not often I've said that all year."

Leeds Rhinos head coach Brad Arthur speaking to BBC Radio Leeds:

"I like the fact that the team is becoming very reliable. The boys can look around the dressing sheds. know what they are going to get which is a big thing to build a bit of belief.

"We have had to focus over the last few weeks about being a bit more professional in our away performances. again I felt that we were getting closer to that tonight.

"I thought our resilience was good. a step in the right direction and lastly I thought our starting middles were physically very very good tonight.

"I am so pleased for Maika (Sivo). He is such a likeable person. He has worked really hard on his weight - keeping it manageable around the 109 kilos mark.

"He hasn't got an ounce of fat on him but he is a big man. the leaner he can be the more we can get out of him and he's worked really hard on that."

Warrington:Thewlis, Ashton, Lindop, Smith, Hopoate, Hayes, Irwin; Thomas, Walker, Byrne, Harrison, Bentley, Currie

Interchanges:Powell, Sipley, Crowther, Tanginoa

Leeds:Miller, Hall, Newman, Handley, Sivo, Croft, Connor; Oledzki, Levi, Palasia, Hankinson, McDonnell, Watkins

Interchanges:Jenkins, O'Connor, Smith, Cassell

**Author: Betfred Super League**

Source: https://www.bbc.com/sport/rugby-league/articles/czde3r7qqv0o

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