Featherstone Rovers must learn lessons of Cup final defeat says Brian McDermott

Rovers are one point ahead of Leigh in the Betfred Championship table, but were beaten 30-16 in the first rugby league game staged at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Leigh scored five tries to two and dominated the first half after the teams went into the break locked at 12-12.

The sides meet again in the league in two weeks’ time and at this year’s Summer Bash and are almost certainly heading for a showdown in the promotion-deciding Million Pound match.

“We put a lot of effort into that, the players certainly did and desperately wanted to win,” McDermott said following his side’s 30-16 defeat.

“There’s some upset people in there [Rovers’ camp], but the reaction could be valuable.

“If there is a reaction, not just in what we do physically but how we knock our next plan together, a loss like that can be really helpful.”

The Featherstone coach, who led Leeds to four Super League titles and masterminded Totonto Wolfpack’s promotion to the top-flight in 2019, had no complaints over the result.

He accepted some of his players “didn’t nail their own performance” and admitted: “It stopped becoming a contest for the final 15.

“Up to that point I thought we were well in the contest.

“I never felt we had a grip of it, or too much momentum inside that contest.

“They’ve got some strengths and some big boys that we handled for a fair while, but not for the final 15 minutes.

“It is disappointing, but we are going to play them another few times this year and it gives us real clarity about where we need to be better.”

Of whether Saturday’s result will have a bearing on future encounters, McDermott added: “I don’t think Leigh will drop their guard the next time we play them and it can’t really make us any more determined, but in terms of what we do differently next, there will be some value in that.”

Rovers will check on full-back Mark Kheirallah who suffered a knee injury late in the game.

McDermott said: “He has got a bit of a bruised leg, let’s hope that’s all it is.”