A first win in three matches helped Leeds Rhinos off the bottom of the Super League table on Sunday.
Leeds - Super League's most successful club with eight titles since the competition's 1996 inception - have really struggled in 2019, with coach David Furner and former captain Kallum Watkins no longer at the club.
But the Rhinos, who signed Shaun Lunt, Robert Lui and Rhyse Martin this week, started life without Watkins with a 31-12 triumph over Catalans Dragons at Headingley.
Much of the damage was done early on as tries from Adam Cuthbertson, Tom Briscoe and Brad Singleton helped the Rhinos to an 18-0 lead inside 20 minutes.
The France-based side cut the margin to six points but Konrad Hurrell and Jack Walker then crossed for the victorious Rhinos.
A thoroughly deserved victory for Richard Agar's side as the Rhinos win 31-12 to move up to ninth in the @SuperLeague table FULL TIME Leeds 31 - 12 Catalans #SLStHLee pic.twitter.com/iDyuQGlns8
— Leeds Rhinos (@leedsrhinos) June 30, 2019
Leeds moved from 12th - a spot that comes with relegation - to ninth with victory, with four sides now locked on 14 points. The Rhinos are ahead of Huddersfield Giants, Hull Kingston Rovers and London Broncos on points differential.
The bottom-placed Broncos were also in action on Sunday, thrashed 42-10 by Castleford Tigers.
Mike McMeeken and Tuoyo Egodo both scored doubles in the eight-try thrashing, with Castleford leading 16-4 at the break in a match they were never troubled in.
The logjam on the Super League table is shown by the fact that just two wins separate Salford Red Devils, in sixth, and the Broncos after Sunday's action.
