The Rhinos came back to earth with a bump as the Bulls showed their Twickenham nightmare is already a distant memory.

Putting 74 points past hungover St Helens seven days earlier might have fooled some Rhinos fans but as they streamed out ten minutes from time they can have been in no doubt where the real power lies in West Yorkshire. Final score: Rhinos 14, Bulls 33.

Aside from a couple of spells inthe second half the Bulls were distinctly superior and had a few more passes stuck they could have romped home.

But they wont be too hard on themselves after another key win which is a boost to their bid to finish top.

Again it was a great team effort but some outstanding individual performances underlined their depth which their rivals are struggling to match.

And none better was Michael Withers who has stepped into the boots of the injured Stuart Spruce with ease. His all round skills appear to make him a natural for the full back position.

He was a key attacking figure early on as the Bulls withstood early pressure to show their rivals how to finish. His first try was stunning. Leon Pryce and Robbie Paul did the spadework down the left flank and although

Leeds appeared to have re-organised well in defence what followed took the breath away.

Mike Forshaw, Henry Paul twice and Joe Vagana handled brilliantly and when Jamie Peacock looked to have been halted ten metres short up popped the ever alert Withers to take the pass and dive over.

People have said how good it looked from the sidelines but it was simple support play really and a great pass from Jamie, insisted Withers.

But I loved it out there. Its a special place to come and win.

The Aussie showed hes no mug defensively either minutes later by putting in a tackle on Keith Senior even though the big centre appeared a certain scorer. Moments later Withers was rubbing salt in Rhino wounds by stepping inside the first line of defence and racing away around Francis Cummins for his second.

Stuart Fielden was needlessly sent to the sin-bin for disputing ball stealing by James Lowes to give the Rhinos a sniff before half-time but, after Iestyn Harris tagged on the penalty, the Bulls had a response.

Henry Paul turned the tables with a short kick-off aimed at the injured Tonie Carroll and from the resulting scrum the Bulls stretched their advantage to 20-2 at the break.

Henry was again prominent before that man Withers popped a great pass to Mike Forshaw and he scored against his old club.

Spurred by Harris the Rhinos gave themselves hope when Carroll for once escaped from Lee Gilmour and the Bulls had a scare when their skippers bomb ws plucked by Senior on the try-line but Henry Paul, aided by Withers and Vaikona, denied him.

Harris and Sinfield carved the Bulls open again but the loose forwards pass was deflected to Pryce and four minutes later any chance of late drama were extinguished.

Gilmour, who looked sharp on attack all night, drifted in-field and Paul Andersons perfectly timed charge back to the short side was too much for the Rhinos defensive ranks.

Leeds did finally break the shackles again with Chev Walker sending sub Rob Burrow darting for the line but Henry Pauls drop goal was the cue for a mass exodus of home fans.

A deserved late try by the tireless Tevita Vaikona, following more good approach work by Gilmour and Withers, was the icing on the cake and, although Henry had a rare miss with touchline goal, he added his sixth in the final moments after Jamie Mathiou had been sin-binned for interference at the play-the-ball.

The final hooter sparked another Headingley party for Bulls fans at the scoreboard end and the players showed what it meant too with some elaborate celebrations of their own.

Hooker Lowes, another top quality performer, was the first to applaud the fans efforts and their response showed hes forgiven for his Twickenham tantrums. His team mates are making a pretty good recovery too!