Rohan Smith explains why Leeds Rhinos lost to Hull KR

Despite a brilliant win over Catalans Dragons last week, tonight Leeds Rhinos produced what Jon Wilkin has described as a “flat” performance as they lost to Hull KR in the rain with Jordan Abdull kicking the Rhinos to death.

But how did Leeds boss Rohan Smith see it?

He explained what went wrong for his side on Sky Sports:

“They kicked well in the first half in awfully difficult conditions. It was one of those days when you needed some bounces to go your way and they didn’t.

“It wasn’t through lack of effort, we defended our line exceptionally well except for some kicks.”

Asked about what the most disappointing element of the defeat was, Smith referenced Hull KR’s third try straight after halftime:

“The kick-off reception after halftime.”

He also gave an update on David Fusitu’a who limped off with an ankle injury:

“Not too sure but he was in a fair bit of pain, he had to be helped off the field. A medium term injury at least.”

Smith also gave an assessment of how impressive Jordan Abdull’s kicking game was on the night when asked if he terrorised the Rhinos:

“He did, he is good at that. We had kick pressure on him but he is exceptional. In those conditions they are tough to deal with and you need some bounces to go your way and they went their way tonight.”