Leeds Rhinos fell to a 22-16 defeat on the road against Salford Red Devils in a loss that looks set to prove very costly for the club in terms of their playoff hopes.
Brad Arthur’s side had the opportunity to go within two points of their rivals and sit just two points outside of the top six, however, Salford have now pulled six points clear with just seven games left to play.
Leeds are just four points behind St Helens but with remaining fixtures against the likes of Warrington, Catalans, Hull KR and Wigan twice, it would appear to be a second straight season without playoffs for the Headingley club.
It was a game that looked like it could go in the favour of Leeds Rhinos as they raced into a 12-0 lead but a controversial Rhyse Martin sin bin saw them reduced to 12, which Salford took advantage of through skipper Kallum Watkins to help get them back into the game.
Asked about Martin’s yellow card post-game, Brad Arthur questioned the costly decision, stating: “I’ve got to get my head around the rules. I thought the Rhyse Martin one, he (Nikorima) just dived, didn’t he? I don’t know how that’s a sin bin.”
Watkins would double up to ensure the home side only trailed 16-12 at halftime before continuing his captain’s knock to help see Salford home.
Can Leeds Rhinos still make the playoffs?
Credit: Imago Images
Sitting four points shy of St Helens and Catalans, the latter who have a game in hand against London, it looks like an incredibly tough task for Leeds Rhinos to make the playoffs with yesterday’s loss a key opportunity to take points away from one of their immediate rivals.
A tally of 28 points has proven enough to make the playoffs in recent years meaning Leeds need four wins from their remaining seven, however, with sides such as Hull FC and London taking just eight points so far all season, it could mean that the bar is higher and 30 points is necessary for a playoff spot.
As such, Leeds Rhinos could have seen their chance slip away but Brad Arthur was insistent that he still believes in his side.
Speaking post-game, he said: “It’s tough but there’s still plenty of footy to be played and we’re not going to give in the fight which they showed today. They’ve done an OK job in terms of their attitude to still be in the game at the back end with 12 men and still be a chance.
“It’s probably a credit to the team as well that when they got a couple of penalty shots, they took the shots at goal instead of trying to score.
“We’ve got to take it a week at a time, you just don’t know what happens with other results but the only thing we can focus on is how we perform and making sure that we get as many two points, as many wins as we can along the way and we’ll have to wait and see what happens to everyone else.”
Next up are Wigan Warriors before Warrington Wolves at Magic Weekend and then a home clash with Catalans, a trio of games you’d have the Rhinos as outsiders in, but a run of games they simply need to win at least one or two from.
