With a quarter of the season remaining, Rhinos are a disappointing seventh in the Betfred Super League and have now lost three straight at home. They are also out of the Challenge Cup. A few members of our jury are now doubting head coach Rohan Smith’s strategies, and they concur that there is a tonne of work to be done in the two weeks leading up to Leeds’ next match.
GAVIN MILLER
It really is extremely, really annoying. To put it simply, the performance on Friday night was appalling. It was awful, up against a Warrington squad that lacked key forwards and was quite ordinary overall.
The main concern I have is that Warrington was lacking their eight, ten, eleven, and twelve, whereas Leeds had nearly their whole forward lineup and still couldn’t compete. I have repeatedly stated that this is the group the coach selected and that playing with this group will result in many losses for us.
The absence of structure is glaringly obvious, especially when playing against teams that have obvious coaches and structures. It’s also getting in the way of our intriguing and inventive backs. Matt Frawley is completely lost during games, Brodie Croft doesn’t have an 80-minute impact, and Lachie Miller comes and goes without making a significant contribution. It will take Ash Handley 80 metres to make an effect on the game.
It’s frustrating and for me the coach needs to get a handle on it. He needs to understand what it is he is working with and change his system to play to what strengths we have
IAIN SHARP
Last Friday night, Warrington—a kind of St Helens if you bought them off Wish—showed up and gave Leeds a lesson. Leeds was second best for most of the match, with the exception of the first fifteen minutes and a few moments in the second half when the forwards chose to go for it. Against a Wire team that, to be honest, was there to take advantage of and was without several first-choice players, their middle defence was particularly terrible.
Rugby league rules are in use in multiple variants for NRL, Super League, and international play. Another variant, the Aaron Moore edition, was unveiled on Friday. You can openly disregard certain regulations in this edition, like as forward passes and offsides, and penalise relatively harmless tackles that follow. On the other hand, you can flagrantly flout laws like crusher tackles. Leeds didn’t lose because of him, but we didn’t need too many “friends” like him.
After two years of the current regime, Leeds still occasionally seems to be fumbling around in the dark, but Warrington seems to have adjusted to the arrival of Sam Burgess, living the dream and using the “Tony Smith Self Improvement Course” (£8.99 at all good bookshops) almost instantly. Warrington also appears to be far more organised. We now get “a week off to regroup.” Where did I previously hear that one?
Finally, just to set the mood, I’m always ready for some friendly fan teasing or shouting. The vibrant Anglo-Saxon effin’ and jeffin’ that are frequently employed also don’t bother me. That kind of behaviour is something I’ve heard at almost every major
sporting event, whether it be rugby or not, and anyone who believes they won’t is quite gullible. However, there is an unwritten boundary that one should not cross. The topic of association football chants has received a lot of attention lately in the media, with mentions of Hillsborough, Munich, and Istanbul, as well as efforts to put an end to them. Even Leeds RL supporters used to hurl derogatory taunts directed towards trawlers and, in a more tender way, the physical characteristics of a particular player from that era. When the club called them out for being inappropriate, they immediately stopped. Consistently lacking in creativity, the Warrington supporters believed that singing about a well-known media figure would provide “entertainment.” This person, as far as I’m aware, had no affiliation whatsoever with Leeds RLFC.
Is it possible that the RFL should impose similar sanctions on this specific song, considering that in 2010 they fined Castleford £40k for engaging in homophobic chanting? After the game, I investigated, and the Warrington club had not mentioned its supporters or called out this particular chant. Are they essentially endorsing that chant by their silence? Why don’t they call it out together as a club? Maybe it’s time they did, if rugby league truly is the family sport that it portrays itself to be.
BECKY OXLEY
For once, there was a match without rain when Warrington came to town. Despite being evenly balanced in the table, the game was never going to be simple. Simply observing the game in real time would have made it simple to pass judgement: there was a lot of jeering, criticism of the referee, and remarks about things that were dropped, and there was undoubtedly a lot of emotion present. To provide a more thoughtful summary, I had to sit down and watch the game again on Sky, and I think we didn’t do as poorly as I may have initially stated.
Although we had a few loose balls and had trouble winning short kickoffs, Warrington’s defence and comeback proved to be superior to ours that evening. The umpire allowed
DAVID MUHL
Upon viewing the team sheet, I believed we would prevail. All things considered, this was a first-choice team, and the outcome can only be described as a hammering. After the first fifteen minutes, we were never in the park and were beaten everywhere we went.
There weren’t many good things to say about this game. Matt Frawley’s kick and Harry Newman’s outstanding catch on the opening Leeds touchdown were outstanding, but it turned out to be a fluke. Our defence, has been great over the past few weeks, just fell apart, we conceded some soft tries and were dominated in the forwards.
Social media is flooded with requests for a new coach. Although I believe it is premature, I really believe Rohan Smith needs to see some progress in his performance as soon as possible! We became entangled in all of our wrongdoings. Last year: careless mistakes, absurd penalties, and subpar kicking—even the reliable Rhyse Martin gave up on the position.
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