The alarming detail that underlines Leeds Rhinos’ uphill play-off battle

Leeds Rhinos needed golden point extra-time again to defeat London Broncos this weekend, as Brad Arthur’s men struggled.

The Rhinos have shown signs of improvement under Brad Arthur, with an incredible 30-4 victory over Wigan Warriors a particular highlight of his time at the club.

However, it’s not all perfect for the Rhinos, who sit just one point behind the play-off spots.

This was highlighted by the side’s performance at Plough Lane, where they were inches away from defeat twice, as the Broncos hit the woodwork both from a late conversion attempt and a golden point drop-goal attempt.

It was an 80 minutes full of errors, and wasn’t anywhere near the kind of performance they’ll need in the final three games of the regular season, against Hull FC and League Leaders’ Shield contenders Wigan Warriors and Hull KR.

This is a theme that has been running throughout the season. The Rhinos are top in the league for errors made in 2024, with 275 – ahead of Catalans Dragons on 254 and Huddersfield Giants on 244.

As well as this, they’re high on the number of penalties they’ve given away, and second for missed tackles.

What Leeds Rhinos need to do to reach the playoffs

As much as the Rhinos have problems with their forward pack, their average gain per play is second in the league, level with Wigan Warriors and only behind Warrington Wolves – meaning the high number of mistakes is making a lot of good work on the ball redundant.

This was highlighted yesterday with a completion rate of just 56% and 16 errors across the game. The Broncos were impressive at times and spirited, but their game was error-stricken as well, and shouldn’t have been able to take the game as far as they did.

The Rhinos, if they can cut a decent chunk of their errors out – have great potential, but are faced with an uphill battle to make the playoffs this year.