Two-try hero Lee Smith credited Leeds Rhinos' winning start in engage Super League XIII to their tough pre-season regime.
Rhinos trailed Hull KR by eight points late in the game, but three tries in the final 13 minutes – two of them scored by Smith – sealed a tense 20-12 win.
It was the perfect start for new Leeds boss Brian McClennan and Smith said hard work over th
e last few months had paid off.
"Hull KR came out and started really well," said the Leeds-born winger.
"It was tough in the first half, we were at each other and towards the end we wore them down a little and we finished the game really well.
"We have put a lot of effort in this pre-season, the guys have been training really hard and I suppose it paid off in those last 20 minutes.
"We had to keep hold of the ball, put a lot of pressure on them and eventually they cracked."
Rhinos refused to crumble, despite missing a series of chances and having two touchdowns ruled out by video referee Phil Bentham.
"I don't think we'd ever throw the towel in," said Smith.
"We could score a try from anywhere and I think even if we were getting beaten in the 79th minute we'd still think we could win from anywhere on the field.
"We will always keep on going." Smith added: "I thought it was a really good quality game and a credit to rugby league.
"It was very important to get off to a winning start.
"We're a week in front of everyone else and we needed to start well and get going into the World Club Challenge.
"We'll go hard into every game and when the World Club comes along, we'll be ready for it."
Coach McClennan admitted he was "a bit worried" at half-time.
He said: "I thought we looked a bit lethargic.
"We were winning the arm wrestle, but our attack was a bit flat.
"Credit to the players, as the game progressed they started to get into a bit of a rhythm and we started to get some attacking play going.
"That was hard because Hull KR were very good in defence."
McClennan said he had kept his half-time team talk simple.
"We just encouraged the team to stick to what we planned and we started to get some momentum to start playing some rugby.
"You've got to keep positive and keep searching to build momentum so you can create some opportunities.
"They did that really well and I thought we defended pretty well on the whole, we just had a couple of momentary lapses.
"It was a tough, competitive game. Fans want to see a contest and they got one.
"It was pretty high quality for a first round match.
The full article contains 481 words and appears in EP Leeds First & County newspaper.
