Brad Dwyer: Leeds Rhinos can take step forward in Easter Super League derby at Castleford Tigers

Rhinos will back up four days after a 20-20 draw against Huddersfield Giants in a game they led by 10 points with two minutes of the 80 remaining.

Having come so close to only their second win of the season - and first at home in 2022 - Dwyer admitted “disappointment” was the overwhelming emotion after the final whistle two days ago.

But he also feels Rhinos have given themselves something to build on for Monday, plus the crucial visit of Betfred Super League’s bottom club, Toulouse Olympique, four days later.

“We’ve highlighted this block [of games], that it could really change our season,” Dwyer said of the Easter fixture program.

“We’ve got three games in quick succession and [Thursday] was the first step.

“I certainly think, even though it was disappointing not to get the two points, we’ve put ourselves in a position to have some energy and go into Monday, try and put it on Cas’ toes and see where we’re at after that.”

Reflecting on the draw with Giants, Dwyer said: “There was a lot of effort put in, but that’s the way it is.

“There’s nothing we can do about it now and probably, in the grand scheme of things, it’s a progression.

“We are eight games in and we’ve been really below-par at the start.

“We were really disappointed with the Saints game, but there was a step in the right direction and I’d say we certainly did that again [on Thursday] against a team that has been playing really well.”

Rhinos were the better team for most of the match and Dwyer insisted: “I think we did more than enough to win that game, but I guess when things are going against you, they are going against you.

“That certainly happened, but we have just got to focus on the things we can control.

“We should have closed the game out so it is disappointing, but we are certainly going to take the positives out of it.

“It has been a tough couple of weeks, we’ve worked really hard and there was some sort of reward at the end.

“By no means were we happy with just one point, but it was a step in the right direction and we’ll take it that way.”

Rhinos had not scored in the first half of their previous three home games and it was only the second time in six matches at Headingley they registered points either side of the interval.

Their finishing was much improved against Giants and Leeds also defended well on their own line, for most of the match.

“It all normally folds into one,” Dwyer noted.

“If we are kicking the ball better, chasing better and completing our sets, it normally helps your D [defence] and you have more energy to defend.

“I think we certainly did that, we rattled Huddersfield and I think we were dominant for most of the game.

“That’s the best thing we can take out of it, that we really dominated them, we got into an arm wrestle and we were resilient until a few freakish things happened in the last five minutes - and a few things we can control as well.

“But that’s what we’ve got to take out of it and see where we are this time next week, because we can be in a lot better position and hopefully build some momentum going into the rest of the year.”

Despite the point, Rhinos remain second from bottom in the table and Dwyer stressed they need to start turning better efforts into two points.

“We need to start picking wins up,” he added.

“Without a game last week, we did two weeks’ good work and we felt it was a clean start. It was certainly a step forward for us.”