Richardson and the Rhinos shine to down New Holland Cup heavyweights

The crafty scrum-half was excellent for the Rhinos in their 39-23 New Holland Cup win over Mudgee on Saturday, their first victory of the season.

Whether it was scoring tries of his own or getting his teammates in early ball, Richardson enjoyed his first home game of the season.

"It's pretty easy when the boys are keeping up together, it's an unreal side to play in," he said.

The Rhinos youngster scored one of his side's six tries during the big win with Ava Sanga scoring a double.

For the most part, the two sides were evenly matched but Richardson said they managed to pull away after a yellow card was given to a Mudgee play mid-way through the second half.

"It was a very tough game but it was just really good the boys just did not give up," he said.

"Everyone was up and it was good."

For the Rhinos, it was their first home match of the season which also happened to coincide with a win over the reigning minor premiers.

Following two impressive performances in as many weeks, Richardson believes the side is continuing to improve.

"It makes it a lot easier when everyone knows their job," he said.

"We couldn't have started off better."

For Mudgee coach John Carter, he paid credit to the opposition.

"It definitely was a tough one but the Rhinos deserved that one," he said.

"The out enthused us and got the basics right, they ran harder and tackled hard.

"They had a good game plan and stuck it to us today."

Thomas Durrant's yellow card arguably changed the match, with the score 21-13 at the time in favour of the Rhinos.

"The sin bin didn't help us," Carter said.

"I think they scored three or four tries during that period so they took advantage but I was happy with our boys.

"For us to come back and score a few tries at the end of the game when we were having injuries made me happy.

"We emptied the bench and kept competing."