Rhinos had two players sin-binned during Thursday’s 28-0 win at Salford Red Devils, including loose-forward Keenan Palasia on the first tackle of the game.
That came after Palasia was sin-binned in the final stages of Leeds’ previous match, against Warrington Wolves and prop Mikolaj Oledzki followed his Rhinos teammate him on to the naughty step midway through the second half.
All three yellow cards were for alleged shoulder contact to the head of an opponent, after the incidents were studied by video referee Liam Moore.
Palasia was not charged following the Warrington clash, but Rhinos face an anxious wait for the results of Monday’s match review panel meeting.
What Leeds Rhinos boss said about pair’s sin bins
Arthur insisted he “didn’t see much” in the latest incidents. He said: “I didn’t think [Palasia’s tackle against Warrington] was sin-binnable either.
“We keep talking about making sure we are low in our target area and we are keeping our hands up and they are ready to get into contact.
“I felt like technically they did what I asked them to do. If you’ve got a smaller body and lower body position…I will have to watch the replay, but I didn’t think there was much in it.”
Asked what else he can ask his players to do, Arthur admitted: “I don’t know. They’ve done what I’ve asked them to do.
“We’ve worked on lowering our target area so we are tackling safe and it’s a better zone to hit with anyway, with our shoulders. I don’t know what more they could do there.”
There was one positive from the yellow cards, according to the coach. “We got to practice some systems in defence,” he said.
“We have been working on a bit of composure as well. After the first tackle of the game we were down to 12, but we didn’t lose our way, we defended well and played good field position with 12 men.”
FOUR tries from James McDonnell helps guide Leeds Rhinos to a 28-0 victory over Salford Red Devils 🙌 pic.twitter.com/gJJ9Qkaip1
— Sky Sports Rugby League (@SkySportsRL) April 10, 2025
