Ash Handley believes Leeds Rhinos’ performance against Wakefield Trinity underlines the progress they have made under Brad Arthur during pre-season. Leeds beat Daryl Powell’s side 18-16 at Headingley Stadium on Boxing Day with George Brown scoring a late try as the Rhinos got their pre-season campaign off to a winning start.
Arthur named a strong starting line-up and two tries from new signing Jake Connor ensured they went in at the break with a comfortable lead. Changes were made in the second half with academy players getting the chance to shine for the Rhinos and Wakefield found a way back into the game.
However, Leeds’ first half showing was more than enough to provide encouragement for co-captain Handley, who started the game at centre after recovering from wrist surgery, with Maika Sivo and Ryan Hall getting the nod on the wings.
“I don’t think I’ve played in about five months now since Magic Weekend so it was good for me personally to get out there and it was good to see what the team is going to look like,” Handley told Leeds Rhinos’ official site after the game.
“We’ve changed a lot in pre-season under Brad so it’s been good, it’s good to see where we’re at and see if what we’ve been doing in pre-season is working. I think it looked like it was, especially with the first-team boys out in the first half, it looked like it was going to plan.
“There was a couple of little errors in there but there always will be and I think we’re doing what was asked of us so you can’t really complain.
“It’s not just a makeshift game, we’ve had 10,000 fans here today so that’s incredible really and it’s routine for me in my life, I’ve been doing it for so long it would be weird if I didn’t play on Boxing Day. I enjoy it and it’s good to be with the lads after Christmas and have a little bit of time together after the game.”
Although Wakefield found their way back into the game against a much-changed line-up, Leeds still managed to finish strong with Brown scoring the decisive try just a few minutes before the end. Handley believes the experience could prove to be invaluable for those youngsters and he was pleased with what he saw from many of them.
“They’ve been really good actually,” he added when asked about the young players in the fold. “They help us bring the standard of training up, we train against them every week and if they’re not on it then we’ll never be that good.
“They need to be good to help the main team and they got a chance to show what they’re about and I think a few of them went really well. There’s some lads in that team there that are only 17 years old so it’s a massive occasion for them to play in front of 10,000 fans and I’m chuffed for them and they’ll go on to have great careers.”
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