Angry Leeds Rhinos fans blame coach Rohan Smith for defeat, say Hull FC game 'must win' as pressure mounts

Two of the panel are now calling for coach Rohan Smith to go, with another two feeling it could be curtains if Rhinos lose Sunday’s game at Hull FC and the other is undecided. All agree last weekend’s 30-24 loss to Huddersfield Giants was a self-inflicted disaster which should not have happened. Here’s their latest thoughts on Rhinos’ recent poor form.

GAVIN MILLER

A good team doesn’t lose that game on Friday night and I’m afraid to say Leeds are not a good team. Incidentally, neither are the Huddersfield Giants, but what Huddersfield are is a well-coached team. It is abundantly clear Leeds Rhinos are not a well-coached side.

As for their mentality…wow, that is bad. To blow 12-0 and 24-12 leads and to lose to that Huddersfield team is criminal. AND ANOTHER THING… at 24-24 who in their right minds takes a short drop out? How poor is your mentality and decision-making that, against a team clearly on a roll, you take a short drop out under the posts, knowing if it doesn’t go 10 metres it’s a penalty in front of the sticks. How badly-coached is a side that takes that decision?

I’ve not called for the coach’s head just yet, I’ve been firmly in the camp that he needs time for this team to gel, but for me he should be sacked for this performance alone. It was that bad - and so blatantly down to poor coaching - he needs to go.

BECKY OXLEY

I’ve been excited to see what Rhinos’ women are going to bring this season and they didn’t disappoint last Friday, with three hat-tricks and 13 tries in their win against Huddersfield. They were absolutely on fire and produced some brilliant attacking play. It will be exciting to see where we go in the rest of the season. Congratulations, also, to Keara Bennett on her 50th appearance.

I’ve been very positive all season and have remained upbeat about the men’s team, but this week I have felt myself waver a bit. We were 12 points in front and should have won, but I just can’t put into words what happened.

Was it the ref with that last try decision? Was it Lachie Miller with that short kick off that went not even 10 metres? Was it the injuries we had and players out of position?

I think I’m best off saying not very much and waiting to see what happens next week. I don’t want to join the ‘Rohan Smith out’ debate as I don’t think that solves anything. I’m not jumping on any bandwagon as I don’t think that helps the players or staff in any way.

I’m looking forward to the physical disability rugby league (PDRL) season this year and want to wish my friend Dan Bell good luck for his first season in the team. I hope to see him smashing it soon.

IAIN SHARP

Relationship councillors would suggest never going to bed on an argument. The problem is, after the farce last Friday night against Huddersfield I got up the following morning to write this and still feel the same way. The last time I saw a meltdown of this magnitude, Jarred Harris got a five episode mini-series on Sky TV out of it.

To summarise: Persisting with ridiculous short kick-offs that don’t work (Einstein’s definition of insanity?); players appearing uninterested and lacking motivation to tear teams to pieces;

media guff about ‘improvements’ … where are they?

Lazy players strolling about after a mere seven minutes; a defensive structure so gullible it could apply for charitable status; an attacking structure that barely makes it to the end of plan A; buying one of the hottest players in the league and coaching him to look ordinary; personnel who appear less frequently than solar eclipses; a fire drill-esque departure of disgruntled fans minutes from the end and clueless match officials - although don’t for one minute think I am laying the blame for Friday anywhere near them.

Other than these few minor points, everything is fine. This is allegedly Rohan Smith’s squad, there can be no excuses. It is Hull FC next for a papering-over-the-cracks game of monumental proportions. Up to now, I have been tolerant and understanding of Rohan Smith, but just in case, does anyone have Justin Holbrook’s phone number handy?

DAVID MUHL

That was a game we not only could have won, but should have won. To throw a good lead away is poor, but to do it twice is unforgivable.

The disappointing thing was there were some good signs early on and at half-time we looked comfortable, then we went into self-destruct mode. All the old problems seemed to reoccur: unforced errors, silly penalties and if I see the Rhinos try another short kick off I’m going to storm the pitch!

There were some okay performances. Rhyse Martin had another good game despite having to change positions yet again and Lachie Miller looked good with the ball. Mikolaj Oledzki seems to be getting back to form, but he is having to do a lot of work as we are missing another big front man. David Fusitua went off injured again and I’ve never seen someone so injury prone. The quicker his contract is torn up the better.

I constantly hear from Rohan Smith, Cameron Smith and Gary Hetherington that this group of players are the most together and connected group, but on the evidence of Friday night they looked anything but. In fact, they looked like 17 blokes who had just met in the pub and decided they’d get together for a bit of touch and pass.

Our next two games against Hull and the Broncos are now even more important, 100 per cent must-win games. I don’t think changing a coach mid-season is a good idea, I have been a big supporter of Rohan, but should we lose either of our next two fixtures then I think it’s bye bye. Finishing on a positive, the women’s team looked good and Danika Prim was a deserved winner at the Rob Burrow Strictly Ball in Blackpool on Saturday.

TOM GOLDSWORTHY

Once again we are asking where do Leeds Rhinos go from here as we fall to another embarrassing defeat at home? After holding a comfortable lead twice, it's super-frustrating to let it slip with little to no fight.

I appreciate losing Harry Newman and David Fusitu'a to injuries isn't ideal, but there were still enough quality players on that pitch to win us the game. I've defended Rohan Smith in the past as I believe he has earned the chance to fight for his place as head-coach. However, I think his time is up. It clearly isn't working anymore.

We've given him a chance to build his own team and there is not enough consistent improvement. Brodie Croft said after the game the squad is still finding out its identity, which has alarm bells ringing for me. By this point of the season we should be starting to hit our stride and it should be clear on how we are going to play. I don't think anyone watching on Friday knew how we were going to play, we just knew we were going to be somehow disappointed. I think the tries we scored show the quality is there, it just gets overshadowed by errors committed by the team.

Lachie Miller has had a bright start to his Rhinos career, but his short drop-out and sin-bin for dissent just capped off a poor evening for Leeds. While this isn't the sole reason we lost, it highlights that we have a long way to go as a team.

Another one was Justin Sangare’s attempt at an offload. While I'm glad he feels confident enough to pull this off, the execution is so poor and undoes all our good work leading up to that point. There's a number of these moments that happen every week which are needless and will stop us reaching the next level.

Looking ahead to Sunday’s game, I think Hull FC will pick up their first win of the season. Confidence will be low within our squad and Hull FC will be desperate to get two points on the board. It's a must-win game if we are to get to the play-offs this year and if Rohan wants to keep his job. On paper, Leeds win this at a canter, but I have seen this script before and I can't see us winning.