Leeds Rhinos halfback hits out at poor St Helens display ahead of Leigh Leopards clash

After a disappointing showing away at St Helens last week, Leeds Rhinos’ five match win streak came to a swift end. 

Countless errors, poor decision making and a lack of direction saw the Rhinos drop to fourth in the Super League table, making this Friday’s clash with third-placed Leigh Leopards even more of a must-win for Leeds.

Star halfback Brodie Croft was one of the many players who had an off day for the Rhinos last week, but he is confident that Leeds can bounce back and kick on from the defeat. 

Speaking to club media this week, the 27-year-old said: “There’s been a few discussions about it, they beat us in effort and concentration areas, which was disappointing and something that we don’t stand for.” 

He added: “We let ourselves down, let the club down and we’ll be looking to make amends this week… BA [Brad Arthur]’s brought that accountability back to the club, and there are areas that we need to fix up.” 

Leeds Rhinos star backs bounce back versus Leigh

Back on home soil, Leeds have been impressive when playing at AMT Headingley this season. After eight matches, Leeds have won six of them, losing only to Wakefield on the opening weekend and a late defeat to Hull KR. 

Croft said: “The boys are keen, especially after a poor performance last weekend. We’re eager to get back out there at home on Friday night. It’s pretty special to play at Headingley on a Friday night, and the boys are pumped” 

The former Salford man says he and his side are ready to go ahead of the blockbuster clash. 

“We know what we didn’t do well last weekend and what we need to do better. There’s a lot of confidence within this group, and we’ve just got to get back to doing us and our game plan. I have no doubt the boys will be doing that this weekend.” 

Leigh have an array of talent in their squad and Croft knows that they will pose a threat from anywhere on the field.  

He said: “[Lachlan Lam]’s one of the form halves of the competition. Between himself, Ipape, Armstrong at the back, their spine is pretty lethal. They’ve also got some strong ball carriers in Ofahengaue, Liu and Tesi Niu as well so they’ve got strike right across the park… it makes for a great match come Friday night.”