Leeds Rhinos: Plus points from Sunday's capital encounter outweigh negatives says Sinfield

LEEDS RHINOS' Jekyll and Hyde performance in the capital left director of rugby Kevin Sinfield more pleased than disappointed.
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Rhinos made it two wins from two in the Betfred Qualifiers with a 48-32 result at London Broncos, but a late slump took the gloss off what had been an encouraging performance.

Rhinos led 16-0 after as many minutes – through a Joel Moon hat-trick – and that proved to be the winning margin.

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They were 48-10 ahead on the hour mark, but London scored four unanswered tries in an explosive late rally.

Leeds Rhinos' director of rugby Kevin Sinfield at Ealing Trailfinders Stadium, Ealing, on Sunday. PIC: Max Flego/RLPhotos.comLeeds Rhinos' director of rugby Kevin Sinfield at Ealing Trailfinders Stadium, Ealing, on Sunday. PIC: Max Flego/RLPhotos.com
Leeds Rhinos' director of rugby Kevin Sinfield at Ealing Trailfinders Stadium, Ealing, on Sunday. PIC: Max Flego/RLPhotos.com

Sinfield was “really pleased” with the first half and felt the closing stages of the game were a lesson for his team.

“I thought we did a really professional job,” he said of the first 40 minutes.

“I suppose I was a little bit disappointed with some of how we played in that second period, but credit to London.

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“I thought they had a real go and we knew it was going to be a tricky fixture for us, but overall I am pleased.

Stevie Ward and Ashton Golding at London Broncos. PIC: Max Flego/RLPhotos.comStevie Ward and Ashton Golding at London Broncos. PIC: Max Flego/RLPhotos.com
Stevie Ward and Ashton Golding at London Broncos. PIC: Max Flego/RLPhotos.com

“We came for two points and we got it. The minutes we play well for are getting bigger and bigger which is pleasing, so overall positive.”

Sinfield added: “This was a banana skin given how well London have been playing and how difficult a fixture it was going to be, but we showed some glimpses of some class.”

Reflecting on London’s fightback, Sinfield was keen not to detract from the Betfred Championship side’s performance.

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He admitted: “There’s clearly some things we still need to improve on and we will do.

“I think for us it’s probably a reminder that we’ve come a long way in a short period of time, but we’ve still got a lot of work to do.”

Rhinos looked on course to run up a huge score with 20 minutes remaining, but Sinfield insisted that might have given Rhinos a “false sense of security”.

He said: “We are growing and improving and doing some good things, but we need to be better.

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“The two points are important and the result was really important, especially that first half.

“We have got a bit of down time now with the Challenge Cup final next week and we’ll use that as smart as we can, then we’ve got Hull KR at home which is a tricky fixture for us.”

Moon’s hat-trick took his tally to five tries in two games since moving back to centre. He did not feature in the second half and Sinfield put that down to “age”. He revealed Moon has been carrying a knee problem and said : “We were just trying to be smart with him and look after him.”

The team boss was happy with recalled full-back Ashton Golding and hooker Brad Dwyer who played the full 80 minutes. He also felt Stevie Ward did well on his return from injury and illness and said: “It was great to see Stevie back and we got quite a few minutes into him which is pleasing.”

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Sinfield said it was “too early” to say if Golding if facing a lengthy lay-off after he hobbled off in the final minute.

n Rhinos under-19s won 34-24 at Wakefield Trinity on Saturday.

Tyler Dupree and Cameron Smith both scored two tries for Rhinos and Jack Broadbent and Owen Trout got the others.

Harrison Van Der Wal (2), Owen Hughes, Nathan Newbound and Oliver Greensmith were Trinity’s try scorers.