Leeds Rhinos have point to prove v Wakefield Trinity but not the one you think: Brad Arthur's preview
Coach Brad Arthur accepts Leeds Rhinos have a point to prove in their derby showdown with Wakefield Trinity, but not because of what happened when the sides last met.
Rhinos are on a four-game hot streak following last Friday’s 46-4 victory over Catalans Dragons, but Trinity have become one of their bogey sides with wins in three of the teams’ last four encounters, including a 24-14 result in the Betfred Challenge Cup earlier this season.
Though that was a painful blow for Leeds, Arthur insisted extra motivation for tomorrow’s (Friday) first versus fourth four-pointer comes from what happened last week, not in March. He pledged: “You are disappointed when you lose, but your point to prove is your next game or your response to that loss.
“That loss [at Wakefield] was a while ago now so what’s important to us now is our response to a good performance last week. Do we get comfortable or do we get hungry?
“Which choices are we going to make and do we want to be that team every week? That’s hard work and you have got teams coming after you. We want to value that privilege.”
A Trinity victory would move them level on points with Leeds and Arthur admitted the games get bigger the longer Rhinos’ winning run goes on. “Every time you play well or win one, the next one becomes more important to make sure you are making the most of the two points as you are chalking them off,” he said.
“Especially when you are playing the teams that are hovering around you and fighting for the same spots, they become pretty big games in terms of the ladder. A big focus for us is trying to be the side we have been for the last couple of games on a regular basis and being really reliable as team matches and as a squad.”
The Cup defeat at Wakefield came less than two weeks after Rhinos arrived back from their trip to Las Vegas and they were on a five-day turnaround from a Sunday game to the Friday fixture at Belle Vue. Leeds were also without one of their most influential players, stand-off Brodie Croft.
They also lost their following game, at Hull FC, but form has picked up since then and Arthur stressed: “I don’t know if we are a different side now. Nothing’s really changed on how we want to play, it’s just we’ve been better at executing it. I feel there were a couple of reasons - not excuses - around why our performance [in the Cup] was a bit flat.
“A few things that happened at the start of the year might have been a reason around that as well, but we’ve pushed out the other side of it now. We’ve not looked for excuses, we’ve looked for reasons why things happen. That wasn’t a great night for us, but we have put it aside.”
Trinity are on the back of a narrow 18-12 defeat at second-placed St Helens last Saturday and Arthur observed: “They are strong, very good. They sit first for a lot of defensive measures and in the top couple for a lot of attack so their stats are really good across the first nine rounds of the competition.
“That’s why they are right up at the top of the table. They have done a really good job. They probably started the season a touch slowly and probably weren’t playing to where they wanted to be, but they’ve been a slow burner and they’ve improved each week.”