Why Leeds Rhinos players' disappointment delighted coach Brad Arthur after big win v Warrington Wolves
Leeds Rhinos’ players came off the field after their 36-12 win over Warrington Wolves feeling “a bit disappointed about a couple of areas” - and coach Brad Arthur reckons that’s a good sign.
Rhinos ran in six tries as they extended their winning run to five games, but Arthur revealed his side felt they could have done better. Speaking in his post-match press conference, the coach described Rhinos’ performance as “pretty tough and gritty”.
He said: “There was heaps of energy and pretty good balance - we played some fair footy at times. We probably left a couple of tries out there early in the game, but we didn’t panic so I am liking the composure and we defended pretty well.
“We came up with two system errors in defence which we have got to tidy up and the boys are pretty disappointed about, but everybody’s chasing that 80-minute performance and it’s hard to get. It is a tough game these guys play, but the thing I like is they want to get that 80-minute performance and they are still a bit disappointed about a couple of areas. As a coach I have got to be careful not to be tough on them, we need to enjoy a good performance and back it up next week.”
Arthur reckoned his side’s dejection with aspects of the performance “just shows they know they’ve got a bit more in them and they really care about the club and the jersey”. He added: “That’s the environment that’s being created at the moment.
“In our reserve side that played today there were a lot of good boys that should be playing Super League, but they haven’t kicked stones all week, they have trained really well, they are preparing us well and they went out and did a good job too.
“I am fortunate as a coach that our high-performance and medical staff have done a good job to get everyone fit and healthy. I know that can change pretty quickly, but it’s not by fluke at the moment because the guys have done a lot of hard work. It doesn’t matter who we put out there at the moment, they are doing a good job.”
Though Leeds are on their best run of wins for two years, Arthur insisted the focus remains centred on how they play. “We’d love to keep winning, but what I’ve talked to the guys about is performances,” he said.
“I want us to be happy with our performances and to come off the field knowing our performance was strong, we played for each other and the jersey and the fans and our club. Sometimes you are going to get beat by a better team or a bounce of the ball or [after being] a bit unlucky. That’s how it goes, but we are focusing really hard on being the same team each week and I feel like at the moment we are pretty consistent with it. Not over a full 80 minutes, but at least we know what we are about as a team.”