Leeds Rhinos star Jake Connor has shared what exactly was said at half-time to inspire his side to victory over Salford Red Devils on Friday night.
Whilst the Rhinos turned up their intensity in the second half, they were clunky in the first half, and Connor said that Arthur talked specifically to the spine players to fix that.
Speaking to Sky Sports after the win over Salford, the Leeds Rhinos halfback shared his thoughts on what changed in their second-half performance.
He said:Â “We needed a bit of a wake-up call at half-time, we were a bit sloppy, a bit flat, but we managed to turn it around in the second half.
“Brad gave us a kick up the backside, and that’s what we needed. We managed to react to that and get the job done.
“He pretty much got into the spine. We weren’t controlling the game as we liked and what we worked on through the week, but we took control of the game and managed to put some points on.”
Whilst Connor himself has arguably been the star of the show, he was quick to credit others in the team who he feels are making his job easier.
He added:Â “Like I’ve said before, our forwards are doing great this season, they’re laying the platform and getting the game moving quickly.
“We just needed to execute. Sometimes it pays off, sometimes it doesn’t. Tonight, it paid off.”
Jake Connor on Leeds Rhinos chances of making the top two and what the main goal for the season is
The 30-year-old is currently the frontrunner for the Man of Steel award this year, despite the vote going secret.
However, he’s focused on where the Rhinos are heading in 2025, including a potential top two spot, should either Hull KR or Wigan Warriors slip up.
He said: “I don’t think we’re concentrating on that. We’re just trying to put ourselves in the mix and give ourselves a shot.
“Obviously, we’d like a home play-off final, but if we don’t finish in the top two, at least we’re in the finals.
“I feel like we’re still building. We did speak about it: if we want to win it this year, we’ve got to beat everyone.
“We’ve shown that, but we’ve just got to keep improving. Against St Helens, we had a bit of a dip.
“We’ve just got to keep building our games. To get to the finals, we’ve got to turn it on then.”
