Leeds Rhinos: Galloway surprised but impressed by Super League standard

The 30-year-old joined Leeds Rhinos from Wests Tigers in the off-season having made more than 200 appearances in Australia’s NRL.

And reflecting on the first half of his debut Super League campaign, Galloway said Rhinos’ lowly position on the league ladder is an indication of how strong the league now is.

“We have played everyone once now, so I know a bit more about teams,” he said.

“It is a strong competition. I was excited about coming over here, but I probably didn’t realise how close the competition is and how strong a lot of the teams are.

“If you are looking from afar you realise there’s some strong teams, but a lot of the other teams are really tough this year.

“It is a real high standard and I am very impressed with the competition.

“Each game is really tough and it’s enjoyable.

“We haven’t been getting the wins, which is disappointing, but we are working hard and hopefully it will turn soon.”

Shock results have been common this season, and Galloway added: “You have got to turn up every week. We have been close on so many occasions, but we just haven’t been able to get the win.

“If we fix a few things up hopefully we’ll get the wins. We are scoring enough points. We’ve just got to tidy up our defence a bit.

“A few defensive lapses here and there are allowing teams to score tries, so if we fix that stuff up hopefully we’ll get some good results.

“Rob [Burrow] has been awesome, the young halves are steering us around and we are close, we just need to fix a few things up in defence.”

Rhinos’ 34 points at St Helens last week was their highest tally since August, 2015, but they conceded 38 and Galloway admitted that was both encouraging and frustrating.

But he stressed: “You can’t dwell on the past. We have been struggling all season, but we have just got to be positive and look to the future.

“Friday night is a big deal for us and hopefully we can go there, give it our best shot and get the two points.”

Salford Red Devils’ six point deduction – for breaching the salary cap – has lifted Leeds one place to 10th.

But tomorrow’s game at Huddersfield remains crucial as wins for Giants and Salford – who are at home to Hull Kingston Rovers on Saturday – would leave Rhinos bottom of the table.

Of the situation on the league ladder, Galloway said: “I don’t really look at it, but I know where we are.

“It is a huge game and we need the two points.

“It was a tough game when we played them at Headingley and it will be tough again on Friday night.

“They are probably in a similar position to us, they have lost a few games by really close scores and they will be desperate for a win as well.”