Leeds were made to work for their predictable victory before duly becoming the first team to reach the quarter-finals of the Kellogg's Nutri-Grain Challenge Cup.

Hull KR, the 300-1 tournament outsiders, played their part in an entertaining fifth-round tie at Headingley and it needed all the class of former Brisbane Broncos stand-off Ben Walker to ease the Rhinos into Sunday's last-eight draw.

Walker, the man chosen to fill the boots of Iestyn Harris, had a hand in his side's first five tries and kicked six goals as Leeds, second favourites following their fourth-round defeat of Bradford, overpowered their Northern Ford Premiership opponents.

Hull KR made the livelier start after the kick-off had been delayed half an hour due to congestion at the turnstiles and the Rhinos were forced to withstand some terrific early pressure on their line.

Chev Walker, Francis Cummins and St Hilaire all coughed up possession after being rocked by the ferocious tackling of the visitors but they could not transfer their enterprising build-up into points.

And, once Leeds brought their skilful playmakers Ryan Sheridan, Ben Walker and Kevin Sinfield into the game, the threat of a major upset was easily averted.

Leeds took the lead on 15 minutes when man of the match Walker got his namesake Chev tearing into a gap and eight minutes later he provided one of the passes which set up right winger Marcus St Hilaire for a try on his 100th appearance for the club.

Ben Walker kicked both angled conversions to make it 12-0 but Rovers deservedly got on the scoreboard on 29 minutes when they ran the ball on the last tackle and full-back Bob Everitt, who had earlier suffered the misfortune of dropping the ball over the line, took Whetu Taewa's pass to squeeze over in the corner.

Skipper Chris Charles was short with the goal and the NFP side slipped further behind just before the break when Ben Walker's long pass created a two-man overlap which enabled Keith Senior to send the unmarked Mark Calderwood over for the Rhinos' third try.

Hull KR left winger Alasdair McLarron demonstrated his side's never-say-die character when he chased back to halt St Hilaire in full flight and the visitors had their moments in attack, too, to emphasise their rating as one of the leading NFP promotion contenders.

But there was no disputing Leeds' extra class and they stretched their lead nine minutes into the second half when, almost inevitably, Ben Walker provided a pinpoint pass for centre Chev Walker to grab his second try.

The introduction of Willie Poching and Rob Burrow added more spark and invention to the dangerous Rhinos attack and, as the Humberside part-timers naturally tired, Leeds piled on the points to create a flattering margin of victory.

Centre Keith Senior went over twice and Sinfield touched down following a glorious break from the lively Burrow, who delighted the 11,198 crowd by tearing away for Leeds' eighth and final try.