Something to prove, video ref frustration, fixture list farce: latest Leeds Rhinos talking points

Leeds have a woeful record against Saints of just two wins in the last 21 meetings, but fully contributed to their own downfall with an error-ridden performance. Here’s five talking points.

1: There’s no great mystery about what went wrong in the 18-4 loss. Rhinos were overly casual and dropped too much ball. It was the sort of performance they were coming up with regularly 12 months ago and they are capable of being much better.

Leeds haven’t played like that for most of this season so there’s no reason to think it was anything more than an off day. If they play like they were doing, they are certainly good enough to return to winning ways against Leigh Leopards on Friday. As coach Brad Arthur hinted after the match, Rhinos may have started to believe the hype which was building up around them. They tend to play better when they’ve got something to prove and that’s definitely the case this weekend.

2: Friday’s game is Rhinos’ biggest of the season so far. A win would lift them back into third place, but if they lose they’ll probably slide down to fifth by the end of the round. The table’s incredibly tight with only five points between the teams from third to seventh and, with so many tough away games coming up, Rhinos can’t afford to slip up on their own turf.

Last week feels like a missed opportunity, particularly with second-placed Wigan Warriors losing to Wakefield Trinity the same evening. That said, they remain in a good position, three places ahead of where they were at this stage last year. As an evolving team, results like the one at TW Stadium are inevitable every now and then. What really matters is how they respond, because the season could still go either way. A top-four finish is achievable, but three or four bad results in succession might see them drop out of the play-off spots.

3: Rhinos have had a relatively settled side in recent weeks, but now Arthur has a decision to make: does he give the same squad an opportunity to put things right, or make changes on the basis players under-performed last week and there are others outside the team who deserve a chance? Or a bit of both?

The shin injury suffered by Morgan Gannon may mean a forced amendment to the 17 and with Rhinos having seven ever-presents, some players have had a lot of rugby over the past four months and could probably do with a rest. Andy Ackers and Cooper Jenkins have both featured in a couple of reserve games this month, are pushing for a recall and could slot straight in. But until last week, everyone was in good form and most of them deserve an opportunity on Friday to prove that was a blip.

4: Video officials are over-used, but on a couple of occasions last weekend referees decided not to consult when they clearly should have done, forcing teams to use their captain’s challenge. Evidently, Jack Smith was right to rule Ryan Hall was tackled into touch in goal against Saints, but it was close and Rhinos had little choice but to refer the incident. Nine times out of 10, it would have been handed on by the man in the middle. The outcome: still no try, but Rhinos retain their challenge.

Later, Smith asked for a second opinion following Riley Lumb’s touchdown, which was much more clear-cut. He also stopped play to check if Lachie Miller had put a foot on the dead ball line when returning a kick. Which he hadn’t. Such inconsistency is frustrating for everybody.

5: This year’s fixture list - not just for Rhinos - is bonkers. Last Friday was the second of three meetings between Rhinos and Saints in nine Super League rounds, beginning with last month’s Magic Weekend encounter and culminating at AMT Headingley on July 11. After 15 rounds, Leeds have had two home games against Wakefield Trinity and visited Salford Red Devils on a couple of occasions, but are yet to play Leigh. Then, there are just four matches between the Leopards’ visit this Friday and the return on August 7.

Having visited Catalans Dragons in round four, on March 8, the return is not until Thursday, September 11, which is the penultimate weekend of the league. There’s almost as long a gap between the home (March 22) and away (September 19) fixtures against Wigan Warriors. In between those, Leeds will have played Saints and Hull KR three times each.

Rhinos are in a spell of six home games in nine rounds. After that, they are away for five of the next six. If that makes sense to someone, perhaps they’d like to explain it?