YEP Jury - Players earn admiration after a ‘scandalous’ run of fixtures

Admiration is the overriding emotion among our YEP Rhinos fans’ jury after witnessing what at least one of them thinks has been a scandalous run of fixtures.
Leeds Rhinos' Brad Dwyer (left) scores the decisive fourth try against Wakefield on Sunday. Picture: Richard Sellers/PA Wire.Leeds Rhinos' Brad Dwyer (left) scores the decisive fourth try against Wakefield on Sunday. Picture: Richard Sellers/PA Wire.
Leeds Rhinos' Brad Dwyer (left) scores the decisive fourth try against Wakefield on Sunday. Picture: Richard Sellers/PA Wire.

Fatigue was very much there for all to see in the defeat to Wakefield Trinity last Thursday but, somehow, Rhinos managed to overcome that, and their hosts, in the follow-up fixture on Sunday.

And, collectively, our jurors ‘take that hats off’ to the team:

Christine Kidd

Winger Ash Handley more than handled the Leeds Rhinos captaincy against Wakefield on Sunday. Picture: Jonathan Gawthorpe/JPIMedia.Winger Ash Handley more than handled the Leeds Rhinos captaincy against Wakefield on Sunday. Picture: Jonathan Gawthorpe/JPIMedia.
Winger Ash Handley more than handled the Leeds Rhinos captaincy against Wakefield on Sunday. Picture: Jonathan Gawthorpe/JPIMedia.
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Playing Wakefield Trinity twice in four days was never going to be easy.

For the Friday game the Rhinos looked as though all the playing was catching up with them. They started strong but soon looked tired and out of sorts and Wakefield ran away with the game.

Sunday was a different story with the game being much closer and both teams giving their all. It was good to see Ash Handley being given the captaincy on Sunday as a reward for all his efforts this season. His two tries took some scoring and he combined well with Liam Sutcliffe down the left-hand side.

Rhinos don’t have a game this week so the players can have a much-needed rest. No matter how the season finishes, it has been a very strange one and the players deserve all the credit for continuing to play.

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This week, Super League voted not to allow Toronto Wolfpack to come back in 2021.

Whatever the rights and wrongs of this decision, I’m not sure it was very ethical that the vote was left with other Super League clubs.

Dianne Hall

The backlog of games finally caught up with the Rhinos against Wakefield on Thursday and they weren’t helped by the news that four players involved in Monday’s derby had to isolate the day before the game.

Wakefield exploited the weakness on the Rhinos’ flanks owing to the absences of Konrad Hurrell and Tom Briscoe.

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We also missed Matt Prior, who recently has given the side some much-needed muscle, and Richie Myler, who has filled in capably for Jack Walker.

Sunday’s re-match was a very different affair. It was played in typical Yorkshire weather, blowing a gale and raining cats and dogs.

I thought that we played well and didn’t let our heads drop when Wakefield got their noses in front early in the first half of the game, resulting in a deserved slender lead at half-time to the Rhinos.

With the tries shared in the second half, some determined defence saw the Rhinos home for a well-earned second win in seven days!

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Finally, the Toronto Wolfpack saga is over and there will be no trip over the Atlantic for us, unfortunately.

Matt Fowler

I am not sure where to start and what game I need to talk about, as there have been that many over the last 10 days.

It is quite incredible that Leeds have managed to produce a team, let alone perform and get some wins in that time.

Covid or not, playing so many games in such a short space of time is a scandal.

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The players deserve huge credit and I am immensely proud of the boys for simply getting on with it, but things need to change before someone gets hurt badly.

The season is starting to fall apart.

The play-offs and Grand Final will be a terrible spectacle if the teams involved are all shot to pieces from over-playing or ravaged by the covid protocols. Something needs to be done to at least get teams at the top playing only one game a week.

Wigan and Saints, who have luckily had the luxury of rest, produced a great game last week.

I know we need to fulfil our commitments to Sky to keep the money rolling in but there needs to be some thought for player welfare.

Will it happen? I doubt it.

Ian Sharp

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It has been a week of turmoil in the rugby league family and in the country as a whole.

I hope everyone keeps safe in the troubled times that again are ahead.

On a wet night in Lancashire, we looked tired, lacking in some leadership and void of ideas in attack. I don’t think the last-minute reshuffle with the positive Covid tests helped, but we looked a mile off a very resurgent Trinity side that looked far from the kind of team that was castigated in the press a few days before as being in revolt with the coach.

We had to back-up again on Sunday against the same Wakefield side that gave us a spanking a few days before.

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In a tough West Yorkshire derby, we looked more composed and gritted out a win, with a great try from dummy-half from Brad Dwyer to clinch the game.

It just goes to show that he should be our number one hooker and starting every game.

This week’s game against Castleford is off and who knows what will happen next? I just hope that games keep going ahead and we get to watch our sport on TV at least.

Graham Poulter

Fatigue was a major factor in why Leeds lost to Wakefield Trinity in last Thursday night’s game which was the first of two fixtures against the same team in the space of a few days.

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Fatigue was always going to catch up with the team at some point in this chaotic season, and it showed. For that reason alone it would be very unfair to criticise the players.

Especially with the physical nature of the sport, the players are doing their absolute best just to take to the field, so I take my hat off to them.

So, on to Sunday’s second meeting with Wakefield.

This game was a lot closer in the scoreline and I’m just pleased that Leeds managed to come off the field with a win under their belt. The player’s dug deep to come out victorious and well done to Wakefield for also trying their best to make a game of it.

Leeds’ scheduled game against Castleford tomorrow night became another victim of Covid-19, so the next game at the time writing is against Wigan on Sunday or Monday.

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Whoever takes to the field will, I am certain, again do their absolute best!

Adam Anderson

Another two games down with one loss and one win.

The players looked absolutely gassed against Wakefield on Thursday night

The amount of games has really taken its toll on them. I was very surprised with team selection for Thursday and thought we would have utilised our squad more in that one and then had the ‘big guns’ on Sunday.

It’s a well-earned rest for the lads this week as the Castleford game has been cancelled owing to 17 positive Covid tests in the Tigers’ camp.

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All eyes for us will be on tomorrow and if Catalans home game against St Helens goes ahead.

It goes without saying, we have a small chance of reaching the top-four, but only if we beat Wigan in our next game.

If we do not reach the play-offs, I think we can still put this season down as a success.

We have had only one positive Covid test in the whole time, have a fifth-place finish in the bag and a trophy in the cabinet.

The lads should be very proud of themselves.

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