Leeds missed out on the Powergen Cup final after they were defeated by fellow Yorkshire side Huddersfield Giants, at Grattan Stadium, Odsal. Huddersfield started strongly and looked determined to case a Cup upset. Within minutes Leeds escaped an early embarrassment when Huddersfield appeared to have taken the lead via Stuart Donlan, but the referee, Richard Silverwood, consulted the video ref who ruled the try did not stand after he spotted an offside. Huddersfield continued their positive start, putting pressure on the Leeds backline, but the Leeds defence remained relatively composed and prevented Huddersfield from creating any real scoring opportunities in the opening 10 minutes. Leeds showed glimpses of their attacking ability, with Burrow and Lauitiiti making good runs but they were unable to break through and the Giants continued to pile on the pressure. Huddersfield looked to be away when Chris Nero sent Stuart Donlan away, but Burrow chased him down to make a fierce tackle that sent the winger into touch. Burrow then had a hand in the Rhinos first try, passing to Chev Walker who put in a perfectly timed pass to Scott Donald who had the simple job of placing the all over the line. Sinfield added the conversion to put the Rhinos 6-0 ahead after 17 minutes.
Huddersfield though, eventually did what they had been threatening to do all afternoon, Paul Reilly made the run, offloading to Chris Nero who found a space to touch down after 20 minutes. DeVere then made the game equal with a difficult conversion.
Huddersfield continued to pose a real threat to the Rhinos and their hard work paid off when they took the lead through Donlan, who benefited from a moment of hesatation from Scott Donald to be first to just get a hand to Thorman's grubber kick to the corner to touch down, DeVere stretched the lead with the conversion. As the first half drew to a close, Leeds hit back through Willie Poching. Huddersfield giving away a penalty and from the resulting play Poching was able to power back Chris Thorman's challenge to bring Leeds back into the game with a try just before half time, Kevin Sinfield levelled the game with the conversion.
The second half started as the first had ended with both teams pushing forward in attack. Huddersfield though regained their lead on 53 minutes when Steve Snitch collected a Brad Drew kick to set up Chris Nero, who managed to escape Shane Millard for his second try of the game and DeVere slotted over the conversion and from here the Giants never looked back, with the Rhinos never able to regain a grip on the game. Throughout the second half Leeds made uncharacteristic errors which the Giants were able to take advantage of. Just before the 60 minute mark Leeds appeared to have prevented going further behind with a vital tackle on Robbie Paul, but seconds later the Giants were celebrating as Stuart Donlan benefited from a brilliant Thorman pass to run in for his second try. DeVere though was unable to add the conversion, however he made up for this on 64 minutes with a successful penalty. On 72 minutes Leeds fans felt it was all over as DeVere added another penalty to give the Giants a 26-12 lead and DeVere soon ensured Leeds' dramatic exit from the Cup when he just got his hand to the ball to touch down on 80 minutes. He added the conversion to bring the final score to 30-12, sending the Giants into the final.
Leeds: Smith, Donald, Senior, Gibson, Sinfield, Burrow, Jones-Buchanan, Diskin, Scruton, Lauitiiti, Peacock, Ellis, Subs: Kirke, Millard, Poching, Bailey
Huddersfield: Reilly, Aspinwall, Wild, DeVere, Donlan, Thorman, Paul, Jakson, Drew, Gannon, Nero, Smith, Jones. Subs: Crabtree, Snitch, Mason, Raleigh
Referee: Richard Silverwood
Attendance: 12,574
