Leeds Knights proving adaptable in their quest for successful NIHL National formula
IN their two Championship-winning years, Leeds Knights could always count on their relentless playing style to get them over the line.
This year, they have had to adapt their approach somewhat, according to head coach Ryan Aldridge, who believes his team has lost some of that intensity.
But that has not necessarily been a negative, the Knights - with just five games to play - finding themselves locked in a two-way battle for the NIHL National title with Milton Keynes Lightning.
The winning formula is still there, it has just been tinkered with slightly, an adjustment that has already brought in one piece of silverware this season in the shape of the NIHL National Cup.
Prior to 2024-25, the Knights could - quite often - blow other teams away.
Aldridge has already admitted that they have found that harder to achieve this time around, the league in general stepping up in quality from 1st down to 11th.
It has meant developing an ability to grind results out, close games out - something evidenced both in the second leg of the Cup final against Romford Raiders and again on Sunday, when they secured a gritty 3-0 road win at Telford Tigers.
“I think our relentlessness has gone a long way to getting us over the line,” said Aldridge, whose team visit Romford and Milton Keynes this weekend before hosting Solway Sharks on Sunday. “This year, I think our relentlessness has dropped a little bit - but we’ve noticed throughout the year that winning is hard.
“And it’s tough sometimes to get up and go again. We watch video of games we’ve played against different teams and it’s just a fact that when you’re at the top and have won a championship, everyone comes at you harder the next time around.
“It’s the same at any level of our sport, of any sport - for example, whichever team has won the Stanley Cup, the next season is always the hardest.
“And we’ve faced that at our level for two years now, so it is hard getting up for every game. We’ve been great over the last two years. For us it has always been about performance, about us.
“And if it doesn’t happen for us this year, then that is life, sadly.”