Leeds Rhinos' Jack Walker on what went wrong against Hull FC and how to fix it

Discipline and errors are the two areas Jack Walker reckons Leeds Rhinos need to tidy up most urgently following their debacle against Hull.
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Rhinos were beaten 31-8 at Headingley two days ago, when all their points came in the final five minutes.

Not surprisingly, the mood among the players afterwards was grim, but Walker fronted up to outline what he felt went wrong.

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The full-back said: “It was a tough one, I thought their forwards kept getting momentum and when you are on the back foot all the time, it’s tough to play.

Jack Walker. Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWpix.com.Jack Walker. Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWpix.com.
Jack Walker. Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWpix.com.

“I also thought we gave too many penalties away and too many errors and when you’ve got somebody as good as Jake Connor on their team, they are going to capitalise on that - and they did.”

Connor, who was opposite Walker at full-back, scored two tries, set up another and landed a drop goal.

“He’s a quality player,” Walker said.

“But if you put him in [good] positions that many times, he is going to create opportunities.

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“It is just about limiting field position for him and we didn’t do that.

“Put the ball in his hands in good ball and he will put points on the board.”

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“We will go and assess it and see where we went wrong and then go again.

“I think if we tidy our discipline up, it is a totally different game.

“We have to have more discipline.”

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The Hull defeat came a week after Rhinos had led 30-0 at half-time against Wakefield Trinity en-route to their first win of the season.

“We wanted to get some momentum,” Walker reflected.

“We started the season with three losses and then got the win and wanted to build on it, but it was a disappointing performance.

“But I think if we sort our discipline out we won’t be far off.”

Rhinos had an identical record - one win and four defeats - at this stage last year and went on to finish fifth.

Walker stressed: “It is early days.

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“As a spine we are still getting to grips with each other and how each other plays.

“It is all going to come together at some point.”

Having missed the whole of 2021 with a foot injury, Walker is ever-present this year.

The 22-year-old’s return has been one of the few positives for Leeds so far and he feels he is progressing every week.

“Personally, I am just enjoying playing, after so long being out,” he said.

“It is disappointing about the results, but I am loving being out there and getting some minutes under my belt.”

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