Leeds Rhinos' Andy Ackers talks playing the full-80, win v Salford Red Devils & Castleford Tigers test
Action man Andy Ackers has played the full 80 minutes in both Leeds Rhinos’ Super League games so far and that might not change when Castleford Tigers visit AMT Headingley on Sunday.
Back-up hooker Jarrod O’Connor missed the round one defeat by Wakefield Trinity because of a knee injury, leaving Ackers as the only nine in Rhinos’ matchday squad. And though O’Connor returned as a substitute at Salford Red Devils last Saturday, he came on at loose-forward after Cameron Smith suffered ankle damage.
That injury is set to keep Leeds’ co-captain out of action for up to 10 weeks and if O’Connor remains at 13, the setback could mean more full games for Ackers. Speaking in pre-season, when O’Connor was unavailable, Ackers stressed he was happy to do that and the first two league rounds have proved it wasn’t an idle boast.
“I can play 80, I get through some work,” Ackers said. “I will do whatever Brad [Arthur, Rhinos’ coach] asks of me. I can defend all day and I can run when the opportunity arises. There’s some rustiness I need to clean up, but [last weekend] was a better performance than round one.”
Tigers have had a tough start under new coach Danny McGuire, being knocked out of the Betfred Challenge Cup at Championship side Bradford Bulls and losing their first two League fixtures, to Hull KR - in golden-point extra-time - and St Helens. But Castleford traditionally raise their game against Leeds and Ackers doesn’t expect this weekend to be any different.
The impressive 32-6 win at Salford got Leeds’ season up and running, but they also lost stand-off Brodie Croft to concussion and Ackers reckons they’ll need to show similar “resilience” on Sunday. He said: “We’ll take confidence from last week, we’ll review that game, take the good bits and get rid of the bad ones and move on from there.”
Ackers, a former Red Devil, feels Leeds showed their true qualities last week following the home loss to Wakefield in round one. “It is always nice to go back to Salford and I was just happy we came away with the two points,” he reflected.
“The week before, there were some really good bits in the game, but there was a 10-minute blip when we lost our gameplan. We put that behind us and went to Salford fully focussed on ourselves and with the right mindset and we came out with a good result.
“After the loss against Wakefield it was right to fully focus on us and our team. We know how good we are and how strong we are as a pack and the whole team as a collective and I think our gameplan worked. We lost Brodie and Cam and had to dig in and fight for each other, so it was a really proud win. It just shows how much camaraderie and resilience and collectiveness we’ve got. We have a really good bond this year and I am proud to be a part of it.”