The one thing which has held Leeds Rhinos back all season has been attack.
Before last night they had the worst offence in the league and only scored one try from inside their own half, but the win at Warrington changed all that as they scored 40 points in brilliant fashion with some innovative off the cuff rugby league.
After the game Rohan Smith broke down what he’s changed in the Leeds attack when speaking to the press: “I like how we’re playing each play for what it’s worth rather than being too structured. They’re just playing.
“It gives us a bit of belief and reason to keep working on what we’re doing.
“Most coaches will tell you support play is an important aspect of the game. We did it really well against Wakefield as well and tonight we were able to throw a few more passes on the back of that.”
He also had the time to identify one particularly amazing piece of skill from Richie Myler in creating Leeds’ second try. He hardly had the ball for a second before sending Zak Hardaker through on an inside ball before he set up Kruise Leeming to score.
On this, Smith said: “It’s fantastic, it’s what combat sport’s about: executing the skill under physical pressure. It’s not easy to compose yourself as you’re about to get hit as you’re trying to execute a skill. The way he held himself together, he deserves respect.”
TRY! And just like that Leeds are back in front as Zak Hardaker steams through! âš¡
— Sky Sports Rugby League (@SkySportsRL) June 3, 2022
He also praised his side’s defence as Leeds scrambled well to deny Warrington early on in the game: “Little shaky to start with but I really liked how we scrambled well and I thought the most pleasing part was how many times people got under the ball and stopped it from getting put down.
“That gave us an opportunity to then play how we’ve practiced.”
There were concerns that there might have been an injury for Blake Austin, but Smith revealed it was a chance to give him a rest after a stomach bug had made his week tough: “Yeah he’s had a bit of a bug, a tummy bug during the week. He was fine, it gave us the chance to give Kruise a few minutes in the halves there and some extended times for Dwyer at dummy half.”
