YEP Jury: Leeds Rhinos are moving in right direction...but an 80-minute display is required

ANDREW SUTCLIFFE

The win against Hull KR was deserved if a bit too close for comfort. The position we are in the table however means two points are welcome no matter how we get them.

A depleted pack performed well and a strong first-half defensive effort ensured the win. To keep any team scoreless is good and we looked to have cured our recent issues. Unfortunately the second half was a different story as poor decision making in attack let Hull KR off the hook and allowed them to get back into the game. Harry Newman went close twice which would have put the game to bed but two excellent tackles prevented this.

More injuries sustained this week is not what we need but hopefully the return of some missing players against Hull KR will lessen the impact.

On to Salford away (again!) Can we repeat the early-season hammering we gave them in week three?

I guess it depends on which version of us turns up and whether we can put together an 80-minute performance. Keeping Jackson Hastings quiet is key.

THOMAS LAWRENCE

Sunday’s encounter was a game that Leeds really needed to win and we did, despite our own best efforts.

Given the unfortunate circumstance of so many missing players this was a very valuable couple of competition points for Leeds, who I really hope can finally notch up back-to-back league wins by defeating Salford tomorrow.

It’s pleasing to see Leeds dominating teams at home and racing into good leads, but now we must really develop our ability to maintain them without letting opponents get back close to us. Despite this great step forward, it will only become a step back again if letting a large lead slip ends up costing us points.

Nonetheless, Leeds have a really good chance to get some momentum going now by defeating Salford on Friday and hopefully winning at Bradford the following week.

We need a run of victories to keep confidence in the group going.

Salford are very much a ‘hot or not’ team in 2019, turning out some impressive performances along with some shabby ones, but this is a game we really should be winning.

Hopefully we can dispose of them the way we did back in February.

OLIVER HAWKHEAD

Another brilliant first-half performance has us sitting in a much better position in the table than before the Easter fixtures.

The squad has come a long way in these last few weeks and nowhere more so than defensively (a part that was very impressive on Sunday). The two players that stood out for me in this aspect were Liam Sutcliffe and Kallum Watkins.

I didn’t see Liam miss a tackle and one-on-one he was superb. Kallum’s tackling has improved over the season and I was surprised with the decision to take him off.

What was most heartening was his reaction to being substituted as it showed that he cared and was clearly frustrated to be taken off. Jack Walker’s return was everything that it needed to be after Tui Lolohea’s performances at full-back; I thought his reading of Hull KR’s attacking kicks was outstanding and he saved a lot of tries.

Things seem to be coming together which is good considering our next league games are a trip to Salford Red Devils and a home game against Castleford. These games will be a test for sure.

KATIE BURROWS

A strong start was enough last week to provide us with consecutive home wins, and we’ve now reached the dizzy heights of 10th!

We still struggled to play for the full 80 minutes but, given the number of missing players and the effects of the demanding Easter fixtures starting to show, I don’t think we can complain too much.

Plenty to work on, but we are improving, and that’s the main thing.

Brad Dwyer is playing his socks off at the minute and Tui Lolohea had, in my opinion, his best game for us.

Harry Newman continues to impress and, with a little more experience, is going to be a great player for us.

We played well when we travelled to Salford back in February so I’m hopeful we will pick up another two points this week.

I’d imagine Wellington Albert and Nathaniel Peteru will be back in the side and I should think the week’s rest will mean they are raring to go.

Just think, a win for us this week and a loss for Huddersfield, would see us jump to ninth in the table!

LUKE CROSSFIELD

Once again it was a tale of two halves against Hull KR last Sunday. We were superb in the first half like we were in the first half of the last two league games.

In the second half of games we just collapse and let the other teams in and this week we were very lucky to get the two points.

Tui Lolohea had his best performance of the season. I thought Brad Dwyer and Matt Parcell worked very well in tandem.

We need to learn how to not collapse in the second half and also we are gaining a lot injuries at the moment.

Harry Newman will learn from his two breaks in the second half, if one of those was a try then the game would have been much more easier in the latter stages.

On to Friday night’s trip to Salford Red Devils who had a comfortable victory over London Broncos.

A repeat of our performance there in February would be nice to see.

It will be tough as Salford are in some good form at the moment and Jackson Hastings is in top form.