Leeds Rhinos made it two wins out of two in defence of their Super League title following an emphatic 18-4 victory over Wakefield on Friday though the scoreline looked harsh for the visitors.

Wakefield's squad had been decimated through injury and illness, meaning only 16 of their 26-strong squad were available for selection, bringing about a debut for 19-year-old Luke Blake.

But, fresh from their opening 12-6 win at Wigan, Wakefield battled superbly and were in the hunt for another shock victory until debutant Danny Buderus sent Ian Kirke over for the match-clinching try seven minutes from the end.

Leeds, too, were short of experience with skipper Kevin Sinfield one of five internationals on the sidelines after succumbing to a calf injury, although they were able to welcome former Australia hooker Buderus to Super League.

Wigan's poor start to the season continued at the KC Stadium as they were deservedly beaten by a new-look Hull side 18-10.

Brian Noble's men have attracted their fair share of criticism since their embarrassing 12-6 opening-day defeat at home to Wakefield last Sunday, and talk of a crisis at the JJB Stadium will rumble on for at least another week thanks to this result.

Second-half tries from Lee Radford and Peter Cusack proved to be the key for Hull in their first outing of the season.

St Helens continued their remarkable stranglehold over rivals Warrington by overturning a 14-0 deficit to run in six second-half tries and hand new coach Mick Potter a winning 26-14 start.

The Wolves, who have now won only one of 34 Super League meetings with their fierce rivals, went 14-0 ahead after tries from former Saints hooker Mickey Higham and Paul Rauhihi and two goals from Chris Hicks.

However, Saints roared back with tries through Lee Gilmour, Ade Gardner, Matt Gidley (2), James Graham and teenage winger Tom Armstrong.

The Wolves have not beaten Saints at Knowsley Road since 1994, and their last victory against their local rivals was a 56-22 success at Wilderspool in 2001.

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