Connect with us

Leeds Rhinos

“Absolutely clueless” – Leeds Rhinos fans losing patience after heavy defeat

Leeds Rhinos Super League

A third successive Headingley defeat for Leeds Rhinos has proven too much for some fans with growing numbers calling for Rohan Smith to be sacked from his role as head coach.

Smith is currently in his second full season at Headingley after taking over midway through the 2022 season with the Australian performing wonders to take the Rhinos from lowly eleventh all the way to the Grand Final.

Of course, St Helens lifted the trophy that day but the season had sparked hope among Leeds Rhinos fans with their new, young and exciting coach taking them within reach of a first Grand Final win since 2017.

The 2023 campaign didn’t fare as well with the Rhinos actually missing the playoffs but major investment in the off-season including a brand-new spine of Lachie Miller, Brodie Croft, Matt Frawley and Andy Ackers once again sparked hope.

So far though those four brilliant talents have failed to click as one with Leeds Rhinos sitting on a Super League record of four wins and three losses whilst having also been dumped out of the Challenge Cup by St Helens, with ex-Rhino Blake Austin now taking aim at the lack of tactics and direction in the spine.

The nature of last night’s defeat to Warrington Wolves, a 34-8 loss with three tries shipped in the final 15 minutes all through errors such as intercepts and failed short goal-line drop-outs, is what has triggered such uproar among fans on social media.

Leeds Rhinos’ fans fume following another Headingley defeat

Of course, not all anger has been directed at Rohan Smith with referee Aaron Moore getting his fair share as fans were angered at his failure to award a penalty to Luis Roberts, which in turn saw Warrington score on the next set.

One fan argued: “Abysmal refereeing from Aaron Moore once again as soon as Robert’s is lifted it should be held,” which was echoed by others.

Paul Momorovski’s overturned try was also a spot of contention for fans with the video ref overturning Moore’s on-field decision to award the Australian centre a try.

That was ruled out eventually for double movement but by contrast Matt Dufty’s try was awarded relatively quickly, something that one Rhinos fan took issue with.

They stated: “Quick decision for warrington try. Tried hardest to find fault with momorovski over every angle. These 2 refs are the worst in sl by far.”

Blame did get directed towards the Rhinos themselves and in particular the tactics used such as the short goal-line drop-outs, one of which was claimed by Momorovski, but another gifted Warrington a try.

“Can we sack off the short kickoffs yet? 2 conceded in 1 game straight from a short kick,” one fan asked, with another noting: “Crap tactics. Crap attacking set plays. Crap kicking game. Crap defence.”

Former Man of Steel winner Brodie Croft has yet to have his breakout game for Leeds Rhinos and one fan suggested that it was history repeating itself in terms of star players falling flat at the Headingley club.

They posted: “I used to love watching Croft at Salford, but you’ve done what you did with Sezer and Austin, made great players absolutely bang average.”

Several fans were far more blunt though with plenty of calls for Smith to be sacked and others noticing the huge pressure he faces.

It will be another two weeks until the Rhinos take to the field again but the reception at Headingley that night when they face Huddersfield Giants could well be very frosty with the pressure surely cranking higher and higher.

Related Topics
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Must See

More in Leeds Rhinos