RHINO HIDES

Battered Leeds battle the pain to prove their toughness

- DAVE CRAVEN

LEEDS Rhinos shrugged off a worrying injury to star man Brodie Croft to ruin Salford's big day.

The former Man of Steel needed on-field treatment for more than 10 minutes after copping a head hit just before the break.

Aussie stand-off Croft (right), sold in a big-money move from Salford to Leeds in 2023, was stretchered-off and Red Devils' Joe Shorrocks received a yellow card.

Leeds also lost co-captain Cameron Smith to a first-half ankle injury and scrum-half Matt Frawley suffered a gashed hand.

But they impressively held their nerve to secure a first victory of the season.

Boss Brad Arthur said: "It was a tough win and the sort you really enjoy as a coach. Anything that could go wrong for us positionally did.