Why Leeds Rhinos coach was 'prouder than Vegas' after win v Castleford Tigers & how Maika Sivo can improve
Boss Brad Arthur was prouder of his Leeds Rhinos side following today’s battling win over Castleford Tigers than after the Las Vegas thrashing of Hull KR eight days earlier.
Rhinos, who made the long journey back from the States last Monday, were forced to dig deep against a resilient Tigers side, but - after they led only 10-4 at the break - try scoring sensation Maika Sivo’s hat-trick secured a 22-4 win which lifted them to second in Betfred Super League.
Arthur reflected: “It wasn't our best performance in terms of execution, but I’m pretty proud of the effort, fight and grit we played with. They came to play and really took it to us, moving us around and challenging us.
“We looked tired a lot of the time, but kept hanging in there and fighting hard. The travel and all the hoo-ha that went on last week with Vegas took its toll a little bit, you could see that, but the good thing about the boys is they didn’t mention it - they weren’t looking for excuses and they ground out a win.”
Arthur was most pleased with restricting Tigers to one try and Rhinos’ refusal to crack when they were under pressure in the final 10 minutes. He added: “We kept turning up on our tryline. They understand every point matters and we have been focusing on that.
“It would have been nice to score another try, but in the end they didn’t want to concede any more. Overall, I am pretty happy with that and I am very proud of that performance, probably more than last week.”
Sivo’s three tries took his tally to nine in just three games since recovering from the knee injury which kept him out of the entire 2025 season. “We brought him here to score tries and he’s certainly going to do that,” Arthur said.
“He doesn’t bomb many, he is a good finisher, but I thought he carried tired at times and made it easy for them to tackle him. He’s not fit, he will be, but it’s going to take a bit of time.”
Of where the Fijian winger can improve, Arthur said: “Probably not scoring more tries or anything like that, but just getting a bit more out of his carries and more involvement. I’ve told him involvement’s not critical for him at the minute, it’s the quality of what he does - just keep focusing on the quality of what he does and as he gets fitter he’ll be able to do it more regularly.”
Rhinos’ first try was scored by 19-year-old stand-off George Brown, who made his home debut in place of the injured Brodie Croft. Brown’s previous Super League appearance was in the round one defeat at Leigh Leopards and Arthur said: “He was better. He is a kid, he is learning, but he did a good job. He juggled the ball, but he managed to ground it and I thought that was good for his confidence.
“He will only grow and get better and the game will slow down for him and he’ll see things earlier and under his own control. At the moment it is probably a bit fast for him, but it will slow down for him once he gets used to it.”