Leeds Rhinos boss makes 'stop talking' plea as costly flaw identified ahead of Wigan Warriors visit
Leeds Rhinos have been ordered to slam the window shut when Wigan Warriors visit AMT Headingley this afternoon.
Rhinos are keen to put on a show in the Saturday showdown against the reigning Betfred Super League champions, to celebrate wing legend Ryan Hall’s 500th career appearance. But coach Brad Arthur admitted the party will be pooped if Leeds fall into their bad habit of conceding leaking a series of tries in a brief “window” during an otherwise tight game.
Rhinos have conceded three touchdowns in a 10-minute spell in three of their five games against top-flight opposition this year and Arthur has identified what is going wrong. “It’s a concentration issue,” the coach said. “It’s not fatigue - the boys are aware of it and talking about it, but we’ve got to stop talking and do something about it.
“We are playing really good for long periods of the game, but then we play really poorly, where we lack concentration for a period of the game. It is a small window, but it is a window where all the points against us are being conceded.”
Last week’s 22-14 loss at St Helens in the Betfred Challenge Cup was the latest example. Rhinos trailed 6-2 at half-time, but Saints crossed after 51, 53 and 56 minutes, to go 20 points ahead and that meant they had enough credit in the back to survive a late Leeds rally.
Arthur admitted that left his players “disappointed and frustrated”, but praised the way they have reacted in training. “They are putting in so much effort and there’s just a couple of bits and pieces here and there or some moments in the game we are getting wrong, which we we’ve got to get better at,” he stated.
“When you play the really good teams, they make you pay for it, but the response has been really good. The buy-in - the effort and physicality and all those things they are in total control of - has been really good.
“Now we just need to get a few of our processes in a bit better order and cohesion and combinations for us to take the next step. Response to training has been great and we are excited we can be part of such a big day for Hally.”
Wigan are also aiming to bounce back from an early Cup exit. They won every available trophy in 2024, but their hopes of another clean sweep were shattered last week when Hull FC hit back from 22-6 down at the interval to score 26 unanswered points in the second half.
Arthur reckons that only makes them more dangerous. “They are a good, strong outfit,” he warned. “They will be disappointed in what happened to them last week, so they will be fired up. They will be coming hard, but regardless of what happened last week, that’s how they come to every game. We are prepared for the best version of Wigan which - I think every team, every week - you have to.”