Leeds Rhinos coach Brian McDermott heaped praise on hooker Matt Parcell – calling him “outstanding” as the Rhinos’ return to form continued on Friday night.
After a convincing win against Catalans last weekend, Leeds backed that up with a 38-14 win against Wakefield which, for the time being at least, moved them back into Super League’s top four.
And McDermott was quick to pay tribute to Parcell, saying: “My man of the match would be Matt Parcell – I thought he was outstanding.
“While he’s not making breaks or creating many line breaks, he holds the ruck accountable and gives Danny McGuire, Adam Cuthberton and Joel Moon a bit of breathing space.”
Kallum Watkins also impressed with a brace of tries – but McDermott insisted that the England international brings much more to the team than his try-scoring exploits.
He said: “While Kallum can score tries and look flash near their tryline, his real worth to us is for the other 85 per cent of the field. He works extremely hard for this team. I’ve heard comments about him being quiet because he’s not scoring flash tries, but he creates a hell of a lot for us and works his nuts off for the team.
“I never thought he was out of form. I thought he was fantastic for us last year throughout a tough season.”