Leeds Rhinos boss believes defeat against Hull FC was “filled with promise”

Leeds Rhinos boss, Rohan Smith, has had a difficult few weeks, with his side currently struggling to live up to expectations on the field. A victory in their last home game against the Castleford Tigers offered Smith a brief respite from the criticism he has faced. However, a morale-sapping defeat against Hull FC has turned the spotlight back onto the Rhinos coach. 

Leeds’ abject performance against Hull raised a number of difficult questions for the West Yorkshire side. In defence, they were too passive against a determined FC side. In attack, the Rhinos lacked direction and were incredibly wasteful in possession, producing a string of unforced errors.

Now, Smith has faced the press after the Super League defeat against Hull. Although he acknowledged that his side had not been good enough to win on the night, he believes that there are grounds for optimism for his side, despite this most unexpected of defeats.

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Leeds Rhinos side “filled with promise” despite defeat

Speaking in his post-match press conference, Smith refused to be overly critical of his side. When asked if he had a message for discontented Rhinos fans in the wake of the defeat, Smith chose to highlight the togetherness of the group. He believes the side showed promise, despite the defeat, and they would work hard to improve on their shortcomings. Smith said:

“Yeah, that game’s filled with promise. And there’s a lot of talent, there’s a lot of belief in the group, and they’re a very connected group.

“So the message is, the boys will stick together and we’ll keep working hard and we’ll own our mistakes and make it the best week we can in prep.”

Leeds host a resurgent Leigh Leopards side at Headingley on Friday night, with both sides clinging onto their playoff hopes. Defeat for Leeds would potentially see them fall four points off the playoff spots, and allow Leigh to close the gap to the Rhinos to just one point.

Smith says his side are frustrated with performance

After the game, Sky Sports pundit, Jon Wilkin, singled out Leeds’ forward pack for criticism. According to Wilkin, Leeds’ pack is too soft for them to compete with the league’s top sides. When asked about his sides lack of punch through the middle, Smith stated he believed that Leeds had competed well with Hull.

“Yeah, we’ve had a few games this year where we’ve made inroads and we’ve fallen forward, but not capitalised on it. So there’s some psychology involved in that for some players, that you’re too eager, you’re trying to find the big play, or sometimes just don’t quite have enough patience to be able to get out and play ball and get them on the next one.

“So I think that was certainly the determining factor in the result today.”

Asked what the overriding emotion in the Leeds camp was after the game, Smith explained that there was a sense of frustration at their performance. Smith said:

“[We are] Frustrated, disappointed, sad. You know, all those negative emotions that are commonplace when you know you haven’t performed as well as you could have.”