Leeds Rhinos head coach Brad Arthur has explained where Kallum Watkins will fit in whilst claiming his side are “over-trying” in attack, something he used to explain some of the frustration during his side’s 28-0 win over Salford Red Devils.
A 28-0 win is rarely used as an example of a frustrated attack but Leeds certainly were frustrated in the first half with the Rhinos only able to cross over once despite having a whopping 29 play the balls inside Salford’s 20.
It was Jake Connor who created the spark for the try, something he’d do twice more in the second half with the ex-Huddersfield man looking like the only real creative threat that Leeds had throughout the match. James McDonnell was the beneficiary most often as he racked up four tries and proved to be the unlikely hero.
The play the ball count inside Salford’s 20 finished at 53 but a 72% completion rate certainly saved Salford from shipping many more and in his post-game analysis, Brad Arthur accused his side of “over-trying”.
Speaking on Sky Sports, the Australian said: “I think this team has got a real habit of over-trying, which is a good thing but we need to probably relax a little bit more and take the pressure off ourselves.
“We feel like we’re doing a really good job defensively and we’re probably one of the better teams in the league at the moment on playing field position but we think that should equate to points and that doesn’t necessarily need to be, we just need to be patient and wait and the points will come.”
Leeds Rhinos boss answers key Kallum Watkins question as Arthur claims club are “over-trying”
Four tries from James McDonnell seals the win for the Rhinos
FULL TIME
Salford Red Devils 0 – 28 Rhinos
🤝 In partnership #Anchor #ButtertheFoodButtertheMood pic.twitter.com/Aytw3W7l7d— Leeds Rhinos (@leedsrhinos) April 10, 2025
Whilst the first-half will have given hope to the Salford fans in attendance, Leeds dashed that by scoring two quickfire tries early after the break and Arthur praised the efforts of that second 40.
“I thought we did that better in the second half,” he noted, assessing: “We were a bit more direct, a bit straighter, ran harder, fought for a play of the ball instead of trying to pass our way to the try line.
“I was nice and relaxed when I went in at half time because I was thinking that they’d expect a spray so I didn’t need to add to the anxiety or the pressure. I just talked to them as a group, what we’re doing in defence, what we’re doing with the ball. Keep it nice and simple. I just went to the halves and told them to probably remove themselves from the game a little bit and just let the forwards carry and then worry about their kick finishes.”
Matt Frawley had partnered Jake Connor in the halves last night on account of Brodie Croft’s injury which means that’s the likely combination for the remainder of the month, however, there will be selection headaches for Arthur in the pack after the signing of Kallum Watkins.
With McDonnell having scored four and earned the Man of the Match medal and fellow second-rower James Bentley having his best season yet in a Rhinos shirt, Arthur was asked how he expected to fit Leeds’ new man in.
“We’ll work that out during the week, but those two guys have done more than enough to hold their spot at the moment,” Arthur reasoned.
“I don’t need to make threats or say anything with my words around positions in the team because if you have a look around, there’s 12, 14 forwards and they’re all looking around where do I fit in so that’s what you need to create healthy competition and I’m grateful to the club that they’ve got that mentality of trying to improve our squad each week.”
