Leeds Rhinos fans encouraged by performance, upset with referee after 'robbery' at Warrington Wolves

After a mixed start to the campaign, our supporters panel can see distinct signs of improvement - especially in defence - and felt Leeds would have got something from the game at HJ Stadium, but for some controversial decisions by the match officials.

DAVID MUHL

Following Leeds Rhinos is a rollercoaster ride. For 70 minutes on Friday, Leeds were in the driving seat and looked to be on course for another great win, but - as we know - playing an 80-minute game is difficult for us.

It showed how tight things are this year as both teams put on a feast of exciting, thrilling rugby league for Super Leagues 5,000th match. This was a game of what ifs: what if Jake Connor had taken the short kick-off? What if Riley Lumb had kept hold of the ball better? What if Brodie Croft hadn’t gone off injured? What if Jake’s conversion had gone over rather than hit the crossbar? What if Palasia hadn’t been sin binned? One thing that’s certain is referee Tom Grant won’t be on any Leeds supporter’s Christmas card list. He had a poor game, including a bizarre ending.

For most of the game our defence was superb and our pack is certainly a massive improvement on last year. They look big and strong and keen to do the hard stuff and they defended our line at times as if their life depended on it. James Bentley excelled again; he's likely the best pound for pound forward in Super League right now.

Connor, short kick-off apart, had another strong game, but my player of the match was Lachie Miller. He’s strong in defence and brings the ball out of defence powerfully. Ryan Hall continues to defy the aging process with a great try-scoring performance. One player I'm unsure of is Sam Lisone. I’m not clear what he brings to the team. He's playing briefly and hasn't been effective as an impact player recently.

We have a break this week as we are no longer in the Challenge Cup and this should allow Brad Arthur to continue to work on our issues. Then we have Salford and Huddersfield, two games we should win comfortably, before the big one, Hull KR. That should be a packed house and a game I’m really looking forward to.

GAVIN MILLER

I hate to admit it, but I’m seeing signs of improvement. Improvement I’ve not seen for many seasons now, but definite improvement. There are still things to work on and still areas in which Leeds can get better, but Brad Arthur’s theories are clear. He wants Leeds to defend teams off the park; he often talks about earning the right to attack and this is what he means, defend sincerely and defend hard, get yourselves into a position where you can attack and win games.

The plan was working well until the mother of all mistakes by the video and on-field referee who decided between them to sin-bin Keenan Palasia for what was essentially a tackle. Warrington took advantage of the man advantage for the winning try, but truth is, Leeds had a lot of possession on the Wire line and this inability to attack decisively at key moments is one of the things they need to work on.

There were interesting comments from Warrington full-back Matt Dufty post-match saying he had never met a more annoying character on the pitch than Jake Connor. I don’t mind that, Connor is playing in blue and amber and having an impact on games and, for me, he can carry on doing what he does. Signs of improvement … may they continue to grow.

BECKY OXLEY

Game 5,000 of Super League was a cracker, especially for the neutral. I can’t believe where the time has gone from when we played Warrington on that first weekend of Super League, in 1996.

With an unchanged team from the previous week’s fantastic win against Wigan, I was hoping for a repeat performance and result. I wasn’t disappointed in the whole, but constant defence for almost three sets broke us down and led to a narrow defeat. Jake Connor and Lachie Miller played well again. I think Jake is now showing the supporters why he deserved to be signed and proving a lot of people wrong with his good attitude and the consistency of his play.

The referee got some stick post-match and there were some decisions that weren’t the best and were questionable. As I always say though, you take them if they go your way, especially if it’s happening to both teams. Losing two points is hard, but I can see the difference from last season and it’s a country mile better from where we were.

We played and were in the game right to the end and the performance was good. That’s all we can ask for. I am proud of how far the team has come. A week off now, because of the Challenge Cup quarter-finals, so let’s use it to freshen up and go again against Salford in our next game.

IAIN SHARP

There is a school of thought that suggests over the course of a season, errors made by referees even themselves out eventually. As a Leeds fan watching them for the length of time I have, I am sceptical about that claim.

There’s also a suggestion that the best things come to those who wait, so I am really looking forward to the 2034 season, when that prediction will come good and Leeds will be awarded everything. Perhaps one of the most interesting aspects of Friday’s game at Warrington was the chat Wire coach Sam Burgess had with the referee at half-time. Up until then, the penalty count in the game had been reasonable (to quote Brad Arthur, we’re

one of the least penalised teams in the competition these days) only for a flurry of penalties to go Warrington’s way in the second half. Perhaps these factors are totally unconnected, but by the same token, there should be something in place to stop the potential for coaches influencing referees during a game.

Finally, after the clocks changed at the weekend, jewellers in northern England should be on the alert for a malfunctioning watch coming in for repairs. It seems to lose about 20 seconds for every 80 minutes it is running and there’s no way of stopping it.

TOM GOLDSWORTHY

I am yet to hear back from Cheshire police after witnessing a robbery in Warrington on Friday when, unfortunately, the referee's performance once again eclipsed a quality game of rugby league. It seems Warrington coach Sam Burgess’ half-time chat with the referee worked and we suffered for it in the second half.

While we weren’t perfect, they got every 50/50 call. Keenan Palasia’s tackle would have been a harsh penalty, so how it got a yellow card is beyond me. Tom Grant's performance needs reviewing as I don’t think he is good enough to referee at the top level.

Even so, Leeds are showing signs of becoming a good side. It was a tough battle on Friday and, for the most part, we dominated. Once we iron out the smaller issues, we will be one of the better sides in the league.

I think we struggle with composure away from home as once again, we’ve lost a game based on a poor 10 or so minutes. It’s still early days though and I’m confident we will be in the running come the end of the season.

Once again, our defence was rock solid. We withstood a lot of pressure throughout the game and very rarely looked like conceding. Annoyingly, it was through our lapses in concentration that they scored, but on the whole, we were impressive. Once our attack fully clicks, we will be a force to be reckoned with.