Like being run over by a bus - Leeds Rhinos youngster reflects on St Helens drubbing

Young half-back Callum McLelland admitted to feeling like he had been “run over by a bus” after Leeds Rhinos’ drubbing by St Helens.
Callum McLelland (number 23) calls the shots at training. Picture by Phil Daly.Callum McLelland (number 23) calls the shots at training. Picture by Phil Daly.
Callum McLelland (number 23) calls the shots at training. Picture by Phil Daly.

Rhinos crashed 48-0 to the defending champions, their biggest margin of defeat in a home Super League game and third-worst in any match at Emerald Headingley.

It was only the third time Leeds have failed to score in Super League and their first home whitewash since March, 1992, when Wakefield Trinity beat them 17-0.

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McLelland, 20, played the full game at stand-off, replacing ankle-injury victim, Rob Lui.

Callum Mclelland, centre, at training with Alex Sutcliffe, left - who also played agianst Saints - and Muizz Mustapha. Picture by Phil Daly.Callum Mclelland, centre, at training with Alex Sutcliffe, left - who also played agianst Saints - and Muizz Mustapha. Picture by Phil Daly.
Callum Mclelland, centre, at training with Alex Sutcliffe, left - who also played agianst Saints - and Muizz Mustapha. Picture by Phil Daly.

He has featured 12 times for Featherstone Rovers on dual-registration, but it was only his fifth Leeds appearance and third in Super League.

McLelland’s only previous start in the competition was against Castleford Tigers last year, though he came off the bench in Rhinos’ 66-12 win over Toronto Wolfpack in March.

Leeds went into round eight top of the table, but could not cope with a devastating Saints performance and McLelland felt they “made it harder for ourselves than it should have been”.

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He said: “Just silly penalties, silly errors, we didn’t finish our sets too good and, obviously, you can’t give Saints that much ball and that much field position with the calibre of players they’ve got and the team they are.

“I thought we were our own worst enemies.”

For Rhinos, it was a painful lesson after a positive start to the season.

“We said after full-time, it is a bit of a wake-up call,” McLelland said.

“We went into it pretty confident because last week we didn’t play too well, but finished strong.

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“I just think it shows we still need to be working as hard as anything in training and competing every day. You have to put your best performance out every week, or else you’ll lose.”

Leeds’ next game is on Saturday against new leaders Wigan Warriors, on neutral ground at St Helens.

Wigan won their first game since the coronavirus break when they pipped Wakefield Trinity 23-22 two days ago, after leading 22-6 in the final quarter.

McLelland insisted Rhinos can get their ‘chins off the floor’ for what will be another huge challenge.

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He said: “Every team has a bad day at the office and ours was [on Sunday].

“When discipline’s not great and you are making silly errors, that’s a killer, especially with the new rules.

“It has completely changed the game - if you make an error or give a penalty away, then do a six-again after that you are defending for so many sets. It was a hard one to take.”

Rhinos don’t have much time to feel sorry for themselves, but McLelland stressed: “This is when we’ll see what we are really made of.

“We are playing another top-class outfit this week.

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“Wakey put in a decent performance against them and didn’t quite come out on top so it just shows we are going to have to be on top form against teams like Wigan and Saints if we want to be competing at the end of the year.”

On a personal note, McLelland “wasn’t happy with my performance”.

He reflected: “I think it was my best performance in a Leeds shirt, but obviously it was a rubbish night to do it because the team’s more important.

“It is a big disappointment because we were really confident going into the game, but it is a learning curve and we will bounce back.”

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With Super League being the only competition still running in 2020, it is first team or nothing for McLelland.

“With no dual-registration or anything like that, I want to play as many games as possible,” he said.

“Hopefully I can in the coming weeks and prove to Rich [Agar, Rhinos’ coach] I can play in Super League week-in, week-out.

“It is a lot faster than the Championship, if you lose a ruck in Super League more often than not you’re starting the set on your own tryline.

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“Taking nothing away from the Championship, but when you play a team like Saints, who are a top-class team and known for how fast they play the game, when you do lose one ruck or make an error they capitalise.

“It wasn’t our night, but we will be better this week.”

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