The incredible record Jake Connor set during Leeds Rhinos debut
Jake Connor scoring for Leeds Rhinos in their Challenge Cup victory over Wests Warriors
Leeds Rhinos headline signing Jake Connor has already made a good impression in his early Headingley career, and now the fullback has broken a club record on his debut.
The former Huddersfield Giants and Hull FC man has been in fine touch for the Rhinos throughout pre-season, and with the injury to Lachie Miller already looks to be a key man for Leeds heading into the regular campaign.
Jake Connor sets new Leeds Rhinos record on debut
Connor, who became the 1500th player to play for the club since the inaugural Northern Union game back in 1895, notched a haul of 32 points in the 92-0 victory over the London-based side, which has now set the record for most points scored by a Leeds player on their debut.
His points came courtesy of one try and 14 goals on the day as the Rhinos waltzed into the fourth round, and that tally has seen him overtake the previous tally of 22 set by Ashley Gibson back in 2005.
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Despite the strong solo performance, he still fell just short of the club’s record for most points in a single Challenge Cup game of 38, which was set by Iestyn Harris back in 2001.
Connor’s 32 points went a long way to ensuring victory over the amateurs at Headingley yesterday, but the Rhinos really hit top form too. Ryan Hall and Sam Lisone both grabbed tidy hat-tricks in the victory, Jack Sinfield and Morgan Gannon both notched themselves braces and there were other scores from Riley Lumb, Cameron Smith, Matt Frawley, Alfie Edgell and Tom Holroyd to boot as well.
Reflecting back on the win, head coach Brad Arthur said: “We had a couple of things we wanted to be good at today, and we needed to respect those guys (Wests Warriors) and the competition with our high completion. In those sorts of games, you can have a tendency to play a bit differently.
“We’re happy that we’ve got through that game now, but we want to thank the opposition who played the game in good spirits. They played for the full 80 minutes and they should be proud of themselves.”
The Rhinos now turn their attention to their Super League opener with Wakefield Trinity on Saturday.
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