Given the blustery and wet conditions at the AJ Bell, there was no surprise that it took so long for either team to break the deadlock.
In fact, after 20 minutes, the only person with any real work to do was whoever was keeping count of the penalties, which was 6-1 in favour of the visitors, much to the chagrin of home fans.
After a seventh Leeds penalty, following a Salford drop out, the old warhorse Jamie Peacock went over under the sticks to give Kevin Sinfield an easy conversion and make it 0-6.
The lead didn’t last long however, and Lama Tasi scored close to the uprights to give Michael Dobson the conversion and level it up at 6-6 after 28 minutes.
Bizarrely, from the restart, Sinfield failed to read the swirling Barton breeze and kicked the restart out on the full.
Salford took full advantage of the penalty and Niall Evalds promptly put the home side in front with Dobson again converting to make it 12-6 just as the rain started to add to the problems of both sides.
Leeds were beginning to look dangerous though, and with the penalty count mounting, managed to shift the ball from one side of the field to the other, before a lovely hanging kick allowed Peacock to make it a rare double, with Sinfield again accurate to make it 12-12 heading towards the break.
Irony struck then as an advertising board was blown onto the pitch and the Leeds fans started to sing “Your ground is falling down,” which given the state of some areas of the stadium, gave the home fans a good laugh.
Parity at the break though was not to be, as Ash Handley went over from what looked a suspiciously offside position to make it 12-16 as Sinfield missed with the boot.
Mind games ensued from Rhinos with a slight delay to the second half their opponents let Salford stand out on the field ready for nearly two full minutes before appearing to resume the game.
It only took another five for the Rhinos to extend their lead, Rob Burrow going over after a lovely break by Joel Moon to make it 12-22 as Sinfield found his range with the boot again.
Evalds though looks like he will be keeping Locke out of the side after his second of the day and with Dobson converting, Salford looked like the team that has won three on the bounce at 18-22 after 27 minutes of the second half.
But Salford were not helping themselves by missing tackles all over the park with only Leeds unable to capitalise.
With just 18 minutes left, Salford’s hopes of a win were dashed as Zak Hardaker punched a hole in the home defence and again a Sinfield conversion made it 18-28.
The play swung too and fro until Paul Aiton went down injured and Mr Thomason forgot to stop the clock with just over four minutes remaining, but Salford were unable to claw back the 10 points and Leeds went clear at the top of the table.
After the match, both coaches were circumspect about the game and neither had any injury worries, although Harris was quick to praise his squad for the way they coped with the visit of a highly motivated and well trained team.
He told SalfordOnline.com: “I thought the way we defended for large parts of the game was good, but we were a little naive with the ball.
“Leeds’ senior players really managed the game well for them and we allowed that to happen and for them to build pressure on ourselves.
“We stuck with them for close to 80 minutes and I felt there was nothing much between the teams.
“I think we had 13 unavailables from our squad today, and that’s a lot for any team. I’m very proud of our performance and the way that the young lads showed up and dug in.”
