Leeds Rhinos Jury: Leeds put some pride back with crushing home win over Vikings

DIANNE HALL

That was more like it against Widnes Vikings! There were some outstanding performances from Brad Dwyer, Luke Briscoe and Jack Walker and Dom Crosby put a decent shift in, even though he is only on loan.

Ryan Hall was unfortunate not to score with a strong showing after signing for the Roosters in midweek.

On the whole, after only three games under the new coaching regime I think we are playing more as a team, but it is a bit too late to rescue us from the dreaded Qualifiers.

The damage had already been done. The win against a poor Widnes team should take us into the Qualifiers with a bit of momentum and I feel more confident now about the future.

It’s amazing how the teams that we wanted to lose all won, though we shouldn’t have to be reliant on other results!

I’m looking forward to tomorrow, against Salford. We must maintain our unbeaten run, otherwise last week will be in vain. I hope that Sir Kev doesn’t rest anyone yet, as there is still a job to be done.

Keep it up boys!

MATT FOWLER

As predicted last week the middle-eights is where the rest of our season will play out and after 22 rounds you would have to say deservedly so.

It has been a wretched run of results and pretty punishing to watch to be honest. This week was the first time we have scored over 30 points all season which is a staggering statistic given the squad we have.

No disrespect to Widnes but it should have been an even bigger victory had we not had the usual lapses in concentration. The performance was much better however and there are green shoots of recovery.

All eyes are now firmly fixed on an unlikely win to get us to Wembley. Stranger things have happened but a Wembley win is still possible and something we all hope can become a reality.

The middle-eights will be a challenge but not something we should be too worried about. It’s a chance for us to build for next year, which quite frankly can’t come quick enough. It has been another annus horribilis for the Rhinos.

I will watch closely our recruitment and exit strategy, as it is clear Kevin Sinfield will sweep clean in the close season.

CHRISTINE KIDD

Despite last Friday’s convincing win against Widnes, Leeds Rhinos will be in the middle-eights for the second time in three years.

It’s difficult to understand how that has happened when the intervening year ended in a Grand Final win!

Things are not all doom and gloom despite being ninth in the Super League table. Dom Crosby looked good when he was on the field and provided much needed grunt up front.

Leeds also showed an improvement in defence in keeping Widnes scoreless.

Another win at Salford tomorrow will see the Rhinos going into the Challenge Cup semi-final against Warrington Wolves with growing confidence. Kevin Sinfield will have been working with Richie Myler on his goal kicking this week in case he has to step up again.

It was announced last week that Ryan Hall will be joining Sydney Roosters next season. I hope he enjoys his time there and proves a big hit in the NRL. I don’t think any Rhinos fan would begrudge him leaving at this stage of his career when he has helped his home team achieve so much over the last 11 years.

ADAM ANDERSON

Friday’s convincing victory over Widnes Vikings brought so much confidence to the team as you could see with ball in hand.

It was great to get the win and also the clean sheet.

Defensively we looked like a different team to previous weeks. Albeit, it was a poor Widnes performance, it was exactly what the team needed. Hopefully we can now build momentum going into the Challenge Cup semi-final against Warrington.

It’s Salford Red Devils tomorrow and I would not be surprised to see a few under-19s get a game, especially Corey Johnson and Owen Trout, who have put performances in week in week out in what has been a successful under-19s season.

With nothing to play for, it’ll be good to rest a few bodies who are battered and bruised from the regular season.

The middle-eights are now beckoning and it’s going to be much tougher than the last time we were in them. Toronto Wolfpack won’t be walkovers and Toulouse are very good at home.

IAN SHARP

With the middle-eights looming, building confidence and team spirit is high on the agenda for Leeds Rhinos, and with a 34-0 win last week against Widnes Vikings it looks like we are doing just that.

With the news of Ryan Hall going to the NRL we needed a positive and to nil any side in professional sport is a sublime effort.

I do wish Ryan Hall all the best and he will be remembered as not only a Rhinos legend but a Super League one too.

The big question is who is going to replace him?

Brad Dwyer had yet another fabulous game.

It baffles me as to why he never got a game under the previous coaching team and with Matt Parcell coming off the bench, having a specialised hooker on the pitch at all times is a massive plus for us.

I think it was one of the factors that cost us the win the week before.

It’s Salford Red Devils up this week – a team we’ll be playing again in the coming weeks.

Let’s have another win please boys and let’s get on a roll in the middle-eights.

GRAHAM POULTER

That was a much better performance by Leeds, not for the whole 80 minutes though. There’s still lots of work needed to repair the monster truck that is Leeds Rhinos.

It’s going to be a long process, but I’m confident that Kevin Sinfield will attract the right calibre of player to the club that will put the club back onto the right track.

In my opinion I feel that Leeds had a chance to win by a much bigger scoreline considering just how poor Widnes are, but as we know in the position Leeds are in, a win’s a win. The good part was keeping Widnes to nil, Leeds can take huge pride in that achievement as a team defending from the front to the back.

It’s good to see pride in wearing the jersey back again. Lots of positives can be taken from the win against Widnes, our defensive effort as a team and us having the confidence to throw the ball around again. As we know Leeds are very good at that.

So we can go to Salford and play with the same attitude both attacking and defensively and put in a performance to prepare for the up coming Challenge Cup semi-final against Warrington and our Qualifiers campaign!