Fans tell Leeds Rhinos 'sort out your discipline' after Hull KR loss highlights serious concern

Rhinos were hammered in the penalty count during last week’s 22-12 defeat at Hull KR and while our fans’ panel weren’t exactly delighted with the referee, they have pinned most of the blame on Leeds’ players. On the positive side, young full-back Alfie Edgell’s full debut went down well and there is praise for in-form winger Ash Handley

DAVID MUHL

It was a disappointing night in east Hull. This was a game I think we should have won, but our discipline let us down. Players have got to learn that anything near the head is going to be punished this year.

An 11-3 penalty count against Leeds, including an unforgivable one for dissent, summed it up. The state of the pitch didn’t help, it looked like they could plant spuds in it. It was definitely not to Super League standard.

There were some positives to come out of the game. Young Alfie Edgell had a superb game, only marred by one error. He certainly looks like one for the future. The pairing of Brodie Croft and Matt Frawley looks like it’s starting to click and should develop into a good partnership and Ash Handley continued his try scoring with another marvellous effort off a really clever kick from Croft.

All three Rovers tries came from kicks; one following a forward pass, one a lucky bounce off a post and the last one we should have cleared. The two sin-binnings were also crucial.

I think James Donaldson was lucky it was only a yellow, but I think Sam Lisone’s was harsh. When we announced our squad at the beginning of the season I thought we were maybe short of another big prop and I think this is proving to be true. Donaldson and Mickael Goudemand are willing, decent players, but far too small to play prop.

Justin Sangare had a decent enough game, but as the only big man in the starting line up struggled to impose himself. Hopefully Tom Holroyd and Mikolaj Oledzki won’t be out for long. We need them. Catalans are next up at HQ and, if we sort out the discipline, this should be our second win of the season.

GAVIN MILLER

“We’ve settled for mediocrity” was the message tweeted to me by rugby league Twitter/X royalty @rugbyleaguelady following Thursday night’s defeat and she is absolutely correct. I’d just watched Rohan Smith shrug his shoulders through a post match interview, seemingly not unhappy with the loss at Hull KR.

I’ve read plenty of tweets and had actual real life conversations and read match reports which all seemed to suggest Leeds had done well on a poor pitch, against strong opposition, being light in the front-row and in the face of some poor referee decisions. Well let me tell you, I’m not shrugging my shoulders and accepting defeat, I’m pretty annoyed about the whole thing.

As I’ve said previously, we are light in the front-row because that’s the squad the coach has assembled; the pitch was the same for both teams, so was the referee and video referee and ‘against strong opposition’, are you kidding me? We are Leeds Rhinos, we should have assembled a playing roster and coaching team that can go to Hull KR and beat them, not a team that shrugs its shoulders and says ‘oh well, KR are a good side’. We are settling for mediocrity.

BECKY OXLEY

Frustrated was how I felt after last week’s game. The conditions didn’t help with the rain and heavy pitch, but Rhinos’ discipline at times was questionable and without a doubt cost us valuable ground and the scoreline.

Hull KR were never going to be easy to beat in their own backyard and we haven’t won two games on the bounce at the beginning of a season since 2018. Alfie Edgell made his debut, having been promoted from 18th man and to be fair, apart from a dropped ball, didn’t put a foot wrong. He is certainly one to watch and he can only build in confidence after that performance. Ash Handley has been doing something in the off-season and it’s certainly working - he scored another cracking try and another contender for try of the season.

I read a lot of the forums and there is a lot said about the referees’ performance and to some degree they are blamed for results. I don’t go along with this as a rule. We have to be in control of our own discipline. The ref doesn’t drop the ball or pass forward. Yes there may be a couple of decisions that went the wrong way, but then it is up to us as a team to deal with that and not allow sloppy defence or give more penalties away.

IAIN SHARP

No recognised props, Lachie Miller pulling out shortly before kick-off and a playing surface that wouldn’t be out of place on Clarkson’s Farm, last Thursday night’s trip to East Hull was

always going to be ‘interesting’.

Referee Jack Smith’s 11-3 penalty count in favour of Hull KR suggests a ‘homing’ ability rarely seen beyond that of racing pigeons. Statistically, are we suggesting that Leeds were nearly FOUR TIMES more undisciplined than Rovers? I’ve always thought in games where there appears to be a wide discrepancy in the penalty count the referee’s performance should be especially scrutinised, not just for the penalties awarded, but also for what has been missed.

Without getting all Open University on you, there’s a branch of science called Human Factors, which is basically the study of why people make mistakes. Are we getting to the point, with the 101 things a top-flight referee has to think about simultaneously, that it is too much for a single official to deal with competently and consistently? Take tennis or cricket, why doesn’t rugby league have similar tracking technology that could tell a referee if a ball has been passed or knocked forward, instant, factually and without any accusation of bias?

“Our sport is embarrassing” chanted the Leeds faithful. If the nettle isn’t grasped soon to deal with some of the sport’s fundamental issues, where games are potentially decided on

the mistake of someone who is being overworked, then we run the risk of it disappearing forever.

TOM GOLDSWORTHY

It took only until round two for Leeds fans to come crashing back down to earth as we slumped to a disappointing defeat at Hull KR. What was most frustrating on the night was the amount of penalties we conceded. It looked like we had not learnt any lessons from our disastrous season last year. That, mixed with the silly mistakes we made, meant it was always going to be a tough night at the office.

I don't think either team really got going. Hull KR arguably got the rub of the green with some decisions and took their chances as and when they came, something Leeds failed to do. There isn't a need to panic yet as it is only the second game and the players lucky enough not to be injured are still settling in. That will take time, especially as we have a new spine for 2024. Hopefully last Thursday’s performance was down to the players we have missing and once we have more personnel back the overall quality will improve.

We did see signs of what is to come though, as once again we were treated to a beauty of a try from Ash Handley. The catch and turn of pace were top quality as he tried his best to drag us back into the contest. At this rate he will have a try of the season competition all by himself. We also saw a peak into what Brodie Croft can offer us. The vision and kick to Handley for his try shows that extra bit of quality he will bring to the team. He also set up the first try for Harry Newman.

It is vital to any success we have this season that we turn Headingley into a fortress, and that has to continue on Saturday against the Catalans Dragons. It will be a tough battle for Leeds, regardless of whether we get some players back or not, but I fancy our chances in front of a big home crowd and can see us picking up our second win, as long as we improve our discipline.