Leeds Rhinos boss hails 'lots of good things' in 48-30 win v Leigh Leopards, insists defence 'not a concern'

The hosts scored eight tries to Leigh’s six in a win which lifted them above the Leopards into third spot in the Betfred Super League table. It was the most points they have both scored and conceded this season, but the coach was happy with the way his men bounced back from their poor performance in defeat at St Helens seven days earlier.

The game developed into ‘touch and pass’ in the final half an hour as the sides swapped touchdowns, but - speaking in his post-match press conference - Arthur insisted: “I could be negative and talk about the defence of both teams, but that sort of game is what the fans want to see.”

He said: “There were lots of tries and lots of great skill on show. Both teams went at it and threw a lot at each other and sometimes in those sorts of contests, that’s where it gets to and it’s hard to defend. Both coaches will look at the defence, but I am not concerned because that hasn’t been consistent with us. It was just that style of game.

“We came here to have a response from last week and go after the game and we did that. That’s all I was worried about. It was fourth versus third, we’ve jumped a spot on the table and both teams showed they are worthy of where they sit.”

Arthur felt his side did “lots of good things” and added: “Overall, we are trying to grow the game and that’s what people want to see, tries. I don’t want to see too many against us, but I’ll put it down to a nice win and enjoy a couple of days’ break before a tough game [at leaders Hull KR] next week.”

Leigh scored first after half-time and threatened a fightback on a couple of occasions, but Arthur felt his team reacted the right way. He said: “You can get flustered and start getting nervous and go into your shell, but we didn’t do that. We came up with a couple of soft efforts for tries, but I think sometimes those games have a habit of being a bit of touch footy. I think for the fans, people would rather have that than 8-6.

“Both teams scored some good tries and really tested each other and it’s hard to defend. When teams are all-out attack, it does change what you do in defence.”

Star of the show was 34-year-old Kallum Watkins who scored two tries and played the full 80 minutes in Rhinos’ pack. “He was good,” Arthur reflected. “He’s easy to coach. I don’t really have to worry about him - he can play anywhere and he has been a handy addition for us.”

Two of Rhinos’ tries were scored by props, with Tom Holroyd and Mikolaj Oledzki both going over. Arthur added: “Mikolaj wanted to make sure I give him a shout out for his try. Front-rowers don’t get too many, but our forwards are getting a few, which is good.”