2009 Leeds Rhinos season explained

Year:	2009
Team Colour:	0c64a3
Font Colour:	f1be17
League:	Super League
League Rank:	1st
League Wins:	21
League Draws:	0
League Losses:	6
League Champions:	Super League XIV
Points For:	805
Points Against:	435
Playoff Result:	Won Grand Final (St Helens R.F.C., 18–10)
Cup:	Challenge Cup
Cup Result:	Lost fourth round (St Helens RLFC, 18–22)
Cup Wins:	0
Cup Losses:	1
Cup2:	World Club Challenge
Cup2 Result:	Lost Final (Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles, 20–28)
Cup2 Wins:	0
Cup2 Losses:	1
Ceo Title:	Chairman
Coach Title:	Head coach
Avg Attendance:	15,312
High Attendance:	19,997 (St Helens RLFC, 4 September)
Top Tries:	Ryan Hall (31)
Top Goals:	Kevin Sinfield (116)
Top Points:	Kevin Sinfield (225)
List:	yes
List Link:	List of Leeds Rhinos seasons

This article details the Leeds Rhinos 2009 Super League XIV season.

Notable moments

February

February 6 – The Rhinos kick off their Super League season against the Crusaders, winning 28 – 6 at home.
February 14 – It was announced that new signing Greg Eastwood had been denied a work visa to play for the Rhinos.^[1]

March

March 1 – Leeds lose the World Club Challenge 20–28 to Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles, at Elland Road.
March 8 – Leeds beat Warrington Wolves 20–14 to maintain their place at the top of the Super League
March 13 – Leeds beat Wigan Warriors 34–10 with an impressive performance to open up a two-point gap at the top the Super League.
March 20 – Leeds lose their first league game of the season, to St Helens

April

April 4 – Leeds are knocked out of the Challenge Cup in the fourth round by St Helens.
April 10 – Bradford beat Leeds in the traditional Easter fixture.
April 13 – Leeds' poor form continues, losing their third Super League fixture in four games, this time to Salford.
April 18 – Leeds return to winning ways, beating Huddersfield away from home.
April 24 – Leeds lose to Harlequins, almost being "nilled" for the first time in 11 years, narrowly avoiding this by scoring their only points with the last move of the game.

May

May 3 – Leeds' Magic Weekend fixture ends in a 16–36 win against Catalans
May 15 – Leeds beat Castleford with the last kick of the match, a penalty conceded on 79:57 and converted after the hooter sounded.
May 26 – Keith Senior scores twice in his 300th match for the Leeds Rhinos, who comfortably beat Hull FC at Headingley.

June

June 6 – Leeds suffer only their second defeat at the hands of Catalans, going down 32–30 in Perpignan to a try awarded by the video referee after the full 80 minutes had elapsed.
June 14 – Leeds regain second place in the table after beating Huddersfield.

July

July 4 – Keith Senior plays and scores in his 500th professional match, away at Hull FC.
July 17 – Leeds come from behind against Hull KR to end the weekend level on points at the top of the table with St Helens.

August

August 14 – Leeds become the first team to score 70 or more points in Super League XIV, beating Castleford 76 – 12.

September

September 4 – Rhinos beat St Helens 18–10 to go two points clear at the top of the table.
September 11 – Leeds beat Salford 30–24 to win the League Leaders' Shield for the first time since 2004.

October

October 2 – Leeds Rhinos defeat Catalans Dragons 27–20 to progress to the Grand Final for the third year in a row.

October 10 – Leeds make history, being the first team to win three consecutive Super League Grand Finals, beating Saint Helens 18–10

2009 Squad

As of 7 April 2009

width=5%	Nat	width=5%	No	width=25%	Player	width=15%	Position	App	Tries	Goals	DG	Points
align=centre		align=centre	1	Brent Webb	align=centre	Full-Back	align=centre	1	align=centre	0	align=centre	0	align=centre	0	align=centre	0
align=centre		align=centre	2	Scott Donald	align=centre	Wing	align=centre	0	align=centre	0	align=centre	0	align=centre	0	align=centre	0
align=centre		align=centre	3	Lee Smith	align=centre	Centre	align=centre	0	align=centre	0	align=centre	0	align=centre	0	align=centre	0
align=centre		align=centre	4	Keith Senior	align=centre	Centre	align=centre	0	align=centre	0	align=centre	0	align=centre	0	align=centre	0
align=centre		align=centre	5	Ryan Hall	align=centre	Wing	align=centre	0	align=centre	0	align=centre	0	align=centre	0	align=centre	0
align=centre		align=centre	6	Danny McGuire	align=centre	Stand-off	align=centre	0	align=centre	0	align=centre	0	align=centre	0	align=centre	0
align=centre		align=centre	7	Rob Burrow	align=centre	Scrum-Half	align=centre	0	align=centre	0	align=centre	0	align=centre	0	align=centre	0
align=centre		align=centre	8	Kylie Leuluai	align=centre	Prop	align=centre	0	align=centre	0	align=centre	0	align=centre	0	align=centre	0
align=centre		align=centre	9	Danny Buderus	align=centre	Hooker	align=centre	0	align=centre	0	align=centre	0	align=centre	0	align=centre	0
align=centre		align=centre	10	Jamie Peacock	align=centre	Prop	align=centre	0	align=centre	0	align=centre	0	align=centre	0	align=centre	0
align=centre		align=centre	11	Jamie Jones-Buchanan	align=centre	Second-Row	align=centre	0	align=centre	0	align=centre	0	align=centre	0	align=centre	0
align=centre		align=centre	12	Ali Lauitiiti	align=centre	Second-Row	align=centre	0	align=centre	0	align=centre	0	align=centre	0	align=centre	0
align=centre		align=centre	13	Kevin Sinfield (C)	align=centre	Loose-Forward	align=centre	0	align=centre	0	align=centre	0	align=centre	0	align=centre	0
align=centre		align=centre	14	Matt Diskin	align=centre	Hooker	align=centre	0	align=centre	0	align=centre	0	align=centre	0	align=centre	0
align=centre		align=centre	15	Michael Ratu	align=centre	Centre	align=centre	0	align=centre	0	align=centre	0	align=centre	0	align=centre	0
align=centre		align=centre	16	Ryan Bailey	align=centre	Prop	align=centre	0	align=centre	0	align=centre	0	align=centre	0	align=centre	0
align=centre		align=centre	17	Ian Kirke	align=centre	Second-Row	align=centre	0	align=centre	0	align=centre	0	align=centre	0	align=centre	0
align=centre		align=centre	18	Carl Ablett	align=centre	Second-Row	align=centre	0	align=centre	0	align=centre	0	align=centre	0	align=centre	0
align=centre		align=centre	19	Luke Burgess	align=centre	Prop	align=centre	0	align=centre	0	align=centre	0	align=centre	0	align=centre	0
align=centre		align=centre	20	Ashley Gibson	align=centre	Centre	align=centre	0	align=centre	0	align=centre	0	align=centre	0	align=centre	0
align=centre		align=centre	21	Simon Worrall	align=centre	Second Row	align=centre	0	align=centre	0	align=centre	0	align=centre	0	align=centre	0
align=centre		align=centre	22	Danny Allan	align=centre	Loose forward	align=centre	0	align=centre	0	align=centre	0	align=centre	0	align=centre	0
align=centre		align=centre	23	Kallum Watkins	align=centre	Centre	align=centre	0	align=centre	0	align=centre	0	align=centre	0	align=centre	0
align=centre		align=centre	24	Ben Jones-Bishop	align=centre	Full back	align=centre	0	align=centre	0	align=centre	0	align=centre	0	align=centre	0
align=centre		align=centre	26	Paul McShane	align=centre	Hooker	align=centre	0	align=centre	0	align=centre	0	align=centre	0	align=centre	0
align=centre		align=centre	27	Luke Ambler	align=centre	Prop	align=centre	0	align=centre	0	align=centre	0	align=centre	0	align=centre	0

2009 Player Signings/Transfers

Gains

Player	Previous Club	Years Signed	Until the End of
		2 years
		3 Years

Losses

Player	Future Club	Years Signed	Until the End of
		3 Years
	Bay of Plenty Steamers (Rugby Union)	Released
		3 years
		2 Year Loan
		2 years
		1 year

Coaching Set-Up

width=10%	Nationality	width=25%	Staff Name	width=5%	Position
	align=centre	Brian McClennan	align=centre	Head coach
	align=centre	Francis Cummins	align=centre	Assistant Coach
	align=centre	Willie Poching	align=centre	Assistant Coach
	align=centre	Barrie McDermott	align=centre	Head of Youth Development
	align=centre	Aleks Gross	align=centre	Match Analyst
	align=centre	Billy Watts	align=centre	Time-Keeper
	align=centre	Jason Davidson	align=centre	Head Conditioner
	align=centre	Meirion Jones	align=centre	Head Physiotherapist
	align=centre	Rob Wilson	align=centre	Masseur

2009 Results

width=4%	Date	width=10%	Competition	width=2%	Round	width=15%	Home	width=5%	Score	width=15%	Away	width=2%	Result	width=10%	Venue	width=10%	Referee	width=4%	Attendance	width=23%	Notes
26/12/2008	Friendly	N/A	Leeds Rhinos	16–22	Wakefield Trinity Wildcats	L	Headingley	Matthew Thomason	8,143	2008 Boxing Day friendly
19/01/2009	Friendly	N/A	Leeds Rhinos	12–10	Salford City Reds	W	Hodges Stadium	Ben Thaler		Friendly held in Jacksonville, Florida.
26/01/2009	Friendly	N/A	Leeds Rhinos	16–20	Hull FC	L	Headingley	Gareth Hewer	5,329	Jamie Jones-Buchanan's testimonial game
06/02/2009	Super League XIV	3	Leeds Rhinos	28–6	Crusaders	W	Headingley	Ben Thaler	14,827	Round 3 played before round 1 to accommodate World Club Challenge fixture on Round 3 weekend
13/02/2009	Super League XIV	1	Leeds Rhinos	18–4	Wakefield Trinity Wildcats	W	Headingley	Steve Ganson	15,643
20/02/2009	Super League XIV	2	Hull Kingston Rovers	10–19	Leeds Rhinos	W	Craven Park	Phil Bentham	8,623
01/03/2009	2009 World Club Challenge	N/A	Leeds Rhinos	20–28	Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles	L	Elland Road	Jason Robinson	32,569
08/03/2009	Super League XIV	4	Warrington Wolves	14–20	Leeds Rhinos	W	Halliwell Jones Stadium	Steve Ganson	9,863
13/03/2009	Super League XIV	5	Leeds Rhinos	34–10	Wigan Warriors	W	Headingley	Ian Smith	17,677
20/03/2009	Super League XIV	6	St Helens R.F.C.	26–18	Leeds Rhinos	L	GPW Recruitment Stadium	Phil Bentham	13,966
27/03/2009	Super League XIV	7	Leeds Rhinos	42–14	Catalans Dragons	W	Headingley	Ben Thaler	13,425
05/04/2009	2009 Challenge Cup	4	Leeds Rhinos	18–22	St Helens RLFC	L	Headingley	Phil Bentham	17,689
10/04/2009	Super League XIV	8	Bradford Bulls	10–6	Leeds Rhinos	L	Grattan Stadium	Ian Smith	14,554
13/04/2009	Super League XIV	9	Leeds Rhinos	20–30	Salford City Reds	L	Headingley	James Child	14,381
18/04/2009	Super League XIV	10	Huddersfield Giants	4–34	Leeds Rhinos	W	Galpharm Stadium	Richard Silverwood	11,593
24/04/2009	Super League XIV	11	Leeds Rhinos	4–21	Harlequins RL	L	Headingley	Steve Ganson	13,912
03/05/2009	Super League XIV	12	Catalans Dragons	16–36	Leeds Rhinos	W	Murrayfield Stadium	Thierry Alibert	30,122*	Magic Weekend fixture
15/05/2009	Super League XIV	13	Castleford Tigers	22–24	Leeds Rhinos	W	The Jungle	Ian Smith	8,082
26/05/2009	Super League XIV	14	Leeds Rhinos	46–16	Hull FC	W	Headingley	Thierry Alibert	15,929
06/06/2009	Super League XIV	15	Catalans Dragons	32–30	Leeds Rhinos	L	Stade Gilbert Brutus	Steve Ganson	7,913
14/06/2009	Super League XIV	16	Leeds Rhinos	20–12	Huddersfield Giants	W	Headingley	Thierry Alibert	14,934
20/06/2009	Super League XIV	17	Harlequins RL	14–48	Leeds Rhinos	W	Twickenham Stoop	Ian Smith	4,378
26/06/2009	Super League XIV	18	Leeds Rhinos	33–20	Bradford Bulls	W	Headingley	Phil Bentham	17,824
04/07/2009	Super League XIV	19	Hull FC	30–43	Leeds Rhinos	W	KC Stadium	Ian Smith	11,780
10/07/2009	Super League XIV	20	Wakefield Trinity Wildcats	30–32	Leeds Rhinos	W	Belle Vue	Steve Ganson	6,425
17/07/2009	Super League XIV	21	Leeds Rhinos	24–12	Hull Kingston Rovers	W	Headingley	Ben Thaler	16,192
24/07/2009	Super League XIV	22	Wigan Warriors	28–10	Leeds Rhinos	L	JJB Stadium	Phil Bentham	20,295
01/08/2009	Super League XIV	23	Leeds Rhinos	24–22	Warrington Wolves	W	Headingley	Ian Smith	13,386
14/08/2009	Super League XIV	24	Leeds Rhinos	76–12	Castleford Tigers	W	Headingley	Ben Thaler	16,931
22/08/2009	Super League XIV	25	Celtic Crusaders	0–68	Leeds Rhinos	W	Brewery Field	Thierry Alibert	5,597
04/09/2009	Super League XIV	26	Leeds Rhinos	18–10	St Helens RLFC	W	Headingley	Phil Bentham	19,997
11/09/2009	Super League XIV	27	Salford City Reds	24–30	Leeds Rhinos	W	The Willows	Thierry Alibert	6,101
18/09/2009	Super League XIV	QPO1	Leeds Rhinos	44–8	Hull Kingston Rovers	W	Headingley	Steve Ganson	11,220
02/10/2009	Super League XIV	QSF1	Leeds Rhinos	27–20	Catalans Dragons	W	Headingley	Richard Silverwood	13,409

Aggregate attendance for second day of Magic Weekend.

Notes and References

Web site: Leeds star Eastwood denied visa . 2009-02-25 . BBC News . March 18, 2009. https://web.archive.org/web/20090219190932/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_league/super_league/leeds/7890204.stm. 19 February 2009 . live.