Leeds Rhinos prospect Morgan Gannon keen to get on front foot against Catalans Dragons after Wigan Warriors disappointment

Teenager Morgan Gannon admits he didn’t do himself justice in Leeds Rhinos’ 34-12 defeat at Wigan Warriors last week, but has vowed to learn from every setback.
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Gannon, 18, was outstanding as a substitute in the round one loss to Warrington Wolves and, with James Bentley suspended and Rhyse Martin on compassionate leave, came into the starting second-row at Wigan.

That was his 15th first team appearance and the seventh time he has been on the field at kick-off.

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Rhinos’ squad is packed with options in Gannon’s position and it was an opportunity to send a message to boss Richard Agar, but the player felt he did not make the impact he was hoping for.

Morgan Gannon is tackled during Rhinos' defeat at Wigan. Picture by Bruce Rollinson.Morgan Gannon is tackled during Rhinos' defeat at Wigan. Picture by Bruce Rollinson.
Morgan Gannon is tackled during Rhinos' defeat at Wigan. Picture by Bruce Rollinson.

“I am happy to be there, but obviously I don’t want to just be making up the numbers,” Gannon said.

“I want to make a difference and I thought I was quiet [last Friday].

“I didn’t really think I put my best foot forward to keep a place, but hopefully I get in this week and turn it around.”

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Gannon was promoted from the scholarship straight into Rhinos’ full-time squad at the end of the 2020 season and made his debut less than a year ago, on April 10, in a BBC-televised Challenge Cup defeat at St Helens.

Morgan Gannon had a fine game as a substitute in Rhinos' round one loss to Warrington. Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWpix.com.Morgan Gannon had a fine game as a substitute in Rhinos' round one loss to Warrington. Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWpix.com.
Morgan Gannon had a fine game as a substitute in Rhinos' round one loss to Warrington. Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWpix.com.

He was called into the England Knights side last autumn and has made remarkable progress, but at his age, every game - win or lose - is a learning experience.

He pledged: “I am developing and growing as a player and [last week] is one of the things I will learn from.

“I will take it with me for this week, when you are growing as a player it is one of the things that comes with it.”

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As a team, Rhinos will need a big improvement in two days’ time against 2021 league leaders Catalans Dragons.

Morgan Gannon. Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWpix.com.Morgan Gannon. Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWpix.com.
Morgan Gannon. Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWpix.com.

The result at Wigan hurt, but Gannon admitted Rhinos’ performance was even tougher to take.

It was really disappointing,” he conceded.

“[Against Warrington] we were really high on energy and we thought we played really well.

“To dish up what we did on Friday, it was gutting.”

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Rhinos dug deep against Warrington, playing more than three-quarters of the game a man down and being reduced to 11 for a 10-minute spell either side of half-time.

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It was a short turnaround to the Wigan match, but Gannon insisted that was no excuse for the lacklustre performance.

“We are athletes,” he said.

“We should be able to put in maximum effort every week, so I don’t think that had anything to do with it.”

Rhinos got off to a good start at DW Stadium, controlling the first 20 minutes and going 6-0 ahead through a try by debutant stand-off Blake Austin.

Gannon said: “That first 20 minutes, I thought we were on top.

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“Then we made a couple of errors and they got down our end and we didn’t turn it around from there.

“It is annoying that we were in it and then we let it go.”

On another short week, Gannon stressed: “We have got to dust ourselves off.

“We can’t dwell on it too long, there’s always next week and we can go out and make up for it.

“It’s at home as well, so that’s important.”

Rhinos are one of five teams without a point ahead of Betfred Super League round three - and two of those, Hull KR and Castleford Tigers, meet on Friday.

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After a positive pre-season, Rhinos expected to be in a better position, but it is still very early days and Gannon reckons they will get on track sooner rather than later.

“We are confident, with what we’ve done in pre-season, that wasn’t us,” he said of last week’s game. We can do better than that, that’s the best thing about rugby league, there’s always next week to change it around.”

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