Leeds Rhinos boss Rohan Smith on where the 'chaos starts', lack of luck and not being surprised by St Helens

Rhinos slipped four points off the play-off pace when they lost 22-18 at St Helens on Friday and sixth-placed Hull KR beat Castleford Tigers.

Smith took positives from the way his team defended, but was unhappy with the speed of the ruck, which has been a theme in his post-match press conferences this year.

“It was super-competitive and hard-fought,” he said of the sides’ third meeting this season, all of which have been decided by an unconverted try or less.

“There was a lot of effort from both teams and overall, the defence of both teams was very good.

“We had a couple of moments, a couple of reads we’d like back, but overall I thought we tackled well in a game that felt like it didn’t have any real rhythm.

“It could have gone either way, but I don’t think it was a high standard of game. It was a high standard of competitiveness.”

Asked about the speed of the ruck, the Leeds boss explained: “The problem starts with the bloke playing the ball, doesn’t have to put his foot on it.

“You have to at least imitate to put your foot on the ball and that just doesn’t happen on any play-the-ball, except for the odd Australian guy who’s come over and just does it how the NRL does it.

“The chaos starts there and there’s no rhythm or consistency to a play-the-ball. There’s some where you’re not sure if it’s going to be a penalty, or go back to play it again. It’s consistent.”

Smith felt Rhinos had “opportunity and position on the field to create some more points” but accepted some things went against his men.

He added: “It was one of those where the bounce of the ball went the other way a little bit. [If] you get a bit of luck on those nights, it [the result] can go the other way

“I think it was pretty hard to say who was the better team, it was a close-fought game that could have gone either way, but the two points are costly, for sure.”

Rhinos had to reshuffle in the opening quarter when winger David Fusitu’a failed a head injury assessment, though Smith reported he was “fine” after the game.

Nene Macdonald moved one place out, James McDonnell switched to centre and Sam Walters moved to second-row, with Tom Holroyd coming off the bench at prop.

Walters scored a try and had one ruled out on video evidence, after referee Liam Moore felt he had scored.

“He had to play the 80 minutes. I would say it’s the first time he has done that in Super League so that’s some effort,” Smith said of the departing forward who will be part of an all ex-Rhinos front-row at Wigan Warriors next year, alongside Tyler Dupree and Kruise Leeming.

“He has spent most of his time as a middle, but he certainly had some good moments on the edge. He had a good game, he has done well.

“We asked a lot of him and he stepped up. I think there were a bunch of guys who played well and we weren’t far off it, but it was a game where it was hard to see the best out of lots of players, particularly some of those guys who like a bit of space. It didn’t have any rhythm, it wasn’t going end to end.

“Part of that was the execution of both teams. There were some unforced errors at times, but there was one time when we had a two and a half-three-minute stoppage because two blokes nearly had a push and shove.

“It takes the attrition out of the game, the end to end nature. That certainly suited St Helens.”

Saints fielded a strong back division, but were missing five forwards from the team which lost to Leigh Leopards in a Betfred Challenge Cup semi-final six days earlier.

Smith wasn’t surprised by the way they performed, stressing: “I don’t think I’ve ever seen St Helens play and not give everything they’ve got. They kept turning up.

“It doesn’t matter who is playing, that has been ingrained in their club for a long time. The nucleus and the glue of their team, they have maintained that all the way through and been able to rebuild and pass on the traits.

“I don’t know if they played any more competitively than what they normally do, but they certainly made a bunch of crucial tackles on their tryline that saved them the game.”