Disappointed but proud: Leeds Rhinos boss Rohan Smith reacts to Grand Final loss
Leeds Rhinos’ players took Saturday’s Grand Final defeat “very, very hard”, according to their coach Rohan Smith, but there was pride mixed in with his bitter disappointment.
Rhinos, 11th on the Betfred Super League table in June, were beaten 24-12 by St Helens whose fourth successive triumph set a new Grand Final record.
Leeds were on the back foot from the third minute, when Matty Lees opened the scoring for Saints and Smith accepted the better team won.
But he urged Rhinos’ players to use the experience as fuel to come back better and stronger in 2023.
“They're all disappointed because we all felt like we could do it,” Smith said in his post-game press conference.
"I've been reminded by people over the years that if you want to taste the success and hold the trophy, you've got to be prepared to feel ordinary in defeat and risk big to win big. That's where we are today.”
Smith felt his team, who finished fifth at the end of the regular season, “put in a lot of effort and played all the way through to the end".
The coach admitted: "It didn't all go our way for sure, but I'm really proud of the journey and the effort we put into tonight's performance.
"I couldn't be prouder of the staff and players for the way we've pulled together and done some great things.
"We've won a lot of games with memorable performances, but you're here to win it. We were clearly the second best team tonight for longer than them."