Leeds Rhinos fans expect 'cricket score' v Huddersfield Giants after 'routine' win at Salford Red Devils

Rhinos returned to winning ways with a 28-0 success at Salford Red Devils last week. Our supporters’ panel expect two more points against Betfred Super League’s bottom-placed club, but want to see a more fluent performance on attack.

BECKY OXLEY

I approached the Salford match with some uncertainty about what to expect. After a break for the Challenge Cup, I anticipated one of two outcomes: either a tightly contested game or a lopsided affair. Ultimately, it fell somewhere in between.

The final score does not accurately reflect the nature of the match. James McDonnell was the standout player, scoring four tries with remarkable speed, leaving the Salford defence regretting missed opportunities to stop him. In the end, the two points were well earned, particularly as the second half showcased more offensive play and determination.

Rhinos secured their place in the Women’s Challenge Cup quarter-finals with an impressive 104-0 victory over Sheffield. I can only imagine how much higher the score might have climbed had the match continued for the full 80 minutes, as it was called off after 60 due to injuries to Sheffield players. While this score is a record and certainly noteworthy, it highlights the need for growth in the women's game, as only a handful of teams are truly competitive in the tournament. There has been significant progress over the past few seasons, but there is still work to be done to achieve true competitiveness.

Looking ahead to Good Friday, the Rhinos will face Huddersfield at home in the rivals round. Given the current standings of both teams, I anticipate a dominant performance from Leeds. While Huddersfield could surprise us, they would need to put in a considerable effort and Leeds would have to underperform for the outcome to change. We must remain vigilant and not become complacent, but I believe it will be a positive Easter for the Rhinos.

DAVID MUHL

Trips across the Pennines aren’t always the best journeys, having to navigate the inevitable roadworks and then the miserable trip back after a Lancashire defeat, but things were different last Thursday. I think the Highways Department had given all its staff the night off and Rhinos put on a winning performance. I must admit it wasn’t the highest quality of game but another two points in the bag. One thing for certain, Brad Arthur has improved the defence and Leeds never looked like conceding a try.

The pack worked hard, and intensity was high. The attack lacked spark, but getting the defence right is the priority. We were, however, missing our first choice six, nine and 13. There were some good individual performances; obviously after scoring four tries and just missing out on a fifth, James McDonnell was man of the match, but he was run close by Lachie Miller and Jake Connor. Jake is probably playing the best rugby of his career; he has a lovely pair of hands and his vision is top notch.

Salford defended well in the first half, limiting Leeds to just one try, but they fell away in the second period, allowing Leeds’ dominance to be turned into points. If, as is looking more and more likely, we lose Brad Arthur at the end of the season, it’s to be hoped we get an experienced coach who can build on the excellent work he has done to get Leeds looking and playing like a team that can go places.

It’s Huddersfield next up at home and a game on current form we should win easily, but Huddersfield have regularly been our Achilles heel. A final word goes to the women who had a record score against Sheffield in only 60 minutes of play. While great for Leeds, I’m not sure scores like this are good for the game and efforts must be made to increase the standard away from the top three or four teams.

IAIN SHARP

Like the wider game of rugby league, I took a strategic review by not bothering going to Salford last Thursday, so soon after the previous trip there. The healthy view for my bank account suggested following it on social media instead. Observant readers may also notice a similar style to the communique issued after another strategic review meeting held at Batley last week. While monitoring the game, I enjoyed a meal featuring - among other things - some excellent locally produced sausages. You can only eat, sorry beat, what is put in front of you and while Salford resisted for a period, Leeds cut loose in the second half, the four tries from James McDonell being the notable highlight. The 28-0 win does our points difference no harm.

Finally, I’d like to thank my wife for the cup of coffee she brought while I have been writing this. She generously imposed no further tariffs on this action thus allowing me to divert vital funds to maintain a sizeable trade deficit with various hostelries in the Yorkshire area. It is absolutely brilliant when other family members can get together to help.

TOM GOLDSWORTHY

In what ended up being a routine win for Leeds, Salford made them work hard for the 28-0 victory. While I am pleased we managed to get the two points, I felt the performance was very uninspiring, to put it politely.

Once again, I thought our defence was pretty solid, even if we were playing Salford's kids. We were disciplined enough to make sure we kept them to a nil score and get the job done. As I've said in previous weeks, a Leeds of yesteryear might have potentially struggled in that fixture as we definitely fell to Salford's level, rather than raising our own game.

Apart from the standout performance from James McDonnell, I thought Jake Connor had another terrific game for us. He has settled well at Leeds and everything good we created came from him. The signs of a good team are present, I just think it will take a few more games to fully get there.

On to the negatives. I feel like we were a bit too clunky in attack and still missing that cutting edge which our rivals seem to have. One try in the first half is embarrassing, especially with the so-called quality of players we had. Salford were always going to come out fighting for their own pride, but that shouldn't have mattered. I do appreciate I'm being pedantic as we did win, I just want to see more from the boys. We have been told this is a new and improved Leeds team, I want them to show it. We haven't really blown any team away this year in the league and it's about time we showed the league we are packing some serious firepower.

Good Friday against Huddersfield is another game where we should be putting a cricket score on. They have looked dreadful this season and we need to be ruthless. Another performance like Salford will be disappointing as we know we have the quality. If we are to be successful this year, we need to be building momentum against the smaller teams in the league and this should start against the Giants.

GAVIN MILLER

The first half against Salford was one of the worst 40 minutes of rugby league I’ve seen Leeds involved in for many years. The tone was set after 15 seconds when a Salford player stayed down - in my opinion pretending to be injured, so the video ref would look at a high challenge - in an attempt to get a card against the Leeds tackler. No doubt if he had got up to play the ball like he should and clearly could have, nothing would have happened and 13 versus 13 would have continued.

At one point in the first half, having taken the decision not to travel to Salford, I switched over to watch Luke Littler in the darts. The 12 minutes of darts was much more entertaining that the dross being served up on the other channel. The second half, though, was much improved and Leeds went on to win at a cantor. It was good to see Harry Newman have a good game for the first time in a long time and generally they got their act together for a routine victory. It’s Huddersfield at home next and I can’t wait to get back to HQ to watch another mediocre team come up against Leeds.