Boss Brad Arthur says Leeds Rhinos 'showed they're tough enough' in 24-22 comeback win at Wakefield Trinity

Leeds Rhinos’ incredible 24-22 comeback win at Wakefield Trinity “showed they are tough enough”, coach Brad Arthur said.

In the battle of Betfred Super League’s top two, played in front of a capacity crowd at DIY Kitchens Stadium, Belle Vue, Rhinos trailed 16-0 after half an hour and seemed down and out when they went 22-6 behind early in the second half.

But two converted tries cut Trinity’s lead to just four points and Leeds snatched a priceless victory when Jack Connor converted Chris Hankinson’s touchdown three minutes from time.

The win guaranteed Rhinos’ place in this year’s play-offs and they are now four points ahead of second-placed Trinity and Wigan Warriors, who take on Toulouse Olympioque on Saturday.

Arthur described the game as “incredibly tough” and praised his side’s grit and character in the second half. He said: “It wasn’t our best performance by any means, but it was probably exactly the game we needed - an 80-minute game.

“We’ve pretty much had everything our own way for a long, long time. This is the first time for a while we’ve been really tested. We had to fight, we got put under pressure and we had to get our composure back and get ourselves back on track.”

The coach admitted: “We did a lot of good things and some bag things. We got punched to the ground and we had to get back on our feet and go again and we did that on several occasions.

“I challenged the boys at half-time that we’d need to go right to the 80th minute and we did it. I also said there might be some questions at half-time about were these blokes tough enough - and we showed we were.”