Leeds Rhinos: Boss Dave Furner left furious by first-half capitulation at Hull KR

BOSS DAVE Furner blasted Leeds Rhinos’ disastrous first half performance after they slumped to a 45-26 defeat in a relegation four-pointer at Hull KR last night.
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Rhinos trailed 12-0 after seven minutes and were 31-10 behind at half-time.

“Conceding 31 points in the first half wasn’t good enough,” Furner admitted.

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“Our first half contact wasn’t good enough. We needed to have a bit more starch at the start and take a bit of energy out of them.

Konrad Hurrell scored four tries in Leeds' heavy defeat.Konrad Hurrell scored four tries in Leeds' heavy defeat.
Konrad Hurrell scored four tries in Leeds' heavy defeat.

“I thought Hull KR at the start of the game were running harder than us.

“We addressed that at half-time and when it went to 31-22 I thought we were coming home.”

Of how Leeds go forward after their eighth defeat of the Betfred Super League season, Furner added: “We will have a look at who’s not doing their job.

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“We needed to match their enthusiasm at the start, a couple of things didn’t go our way, suddenly we were on our line and we conceded some tries.

Leeds' Cameron Smith is tackled by Rovers try scorer Josh Drinkwater.Leeds' Cameron Smith is tackled by Rovers try scorer Josh Drinkwater.
Leeds' Cameron Smith is tackled by Rovers try scorer Josh Drinkwater.

“Our completions were poor in the first half, fatigue sets in and you make some poor decisions. We need to regroup and have a look at those areas.”

Furner defended full-back Jack Walker who kicked three restarts dead and failed to go 10 metres with another.

He said: “Go easy on him, he’s a 19-year-old kid and he will learn from that. The last few weeks he has been very consistent. He puts his body on the line consistently.”

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Despite the defeat, Konrad Hurrell continued his good form with four tries and Furner said: “He has been very consistent. He never stopped trying.”

Dave FurnerDave Furner
Dave Furner

Rhinos gave a debut to Papua New Guinea international prop Wellington Albert, who was handed his Leeds shirt by PNG and Hull KR legend Stanley Gene.

The 24-year-old has signed a contract until the end of the season after being made redundant when Widnes Vikings went into administration earlier this year.