No revenge for Rhinos says Golding

   18/12/2018

Leeds Rhinos fullback Ashton Golding insisted he and his teammate have no need for revenge, despite the shortcomings of the 2018 season.

The Rhinos missed out on the top eight last season, under the stewardship of assistant James Lowes who paved the way David Furner’s appointment, and finished second in the Qualifiers behind Salford after defeats to Hull KR and Toronto Wolfpack.

But Golding believes the squad have no need to eye a vengeance in the upcoming campaign, stressing that honesty and integrity are the key principles to ensure they do not lose focus.

And with a changing guard at Leeds with the appointment of Furner, added with the impressive signings of Tuimoala Lolohea, Trent Merrin and Konrad Hurrell, the 22-year-old Jamaican international admitted it feels like a new start, but believes the club’s core values from previous generations of players are still alive despite the difficulty of the last few seasons.

“If I was going to look at it I’d have to call it a clean slate,” he told Total Rugby League. “What has been has been, there’s a new coach in town and new things in place. You couldn’t say it’s revenge because there’s a lot of players in this squad who weren’t here last year and they won’t know what it felt like.
“We have to look at each other and be honest with each other and they’re things that have been installed in me since I was a kid. Playing with Kev (Sinfield), Kylie (Leuluai), JP (Jamie Peacock) and then Brian McDermott, they install that honesty in you.
“If you’re going to look at us and 2019, from the outside you’ll have an opinion. But that means nothing. We know anyone can beat anyone in this league and we’re preparing for that.
“I don’t think you can step on a rugby field and not be honest. I think if you aren’t you get sussed out in 30 seconds. I think individually we were all going through some stuff and looked at ourselves too much rather than the greater good.
“But I’ve never been in a Leeds team and thought we’ve been dishonest. It’s hard to pinpoint the main cause of last year, it was a wild season, but as we’ve shown before we can go do the unthinkable the year after. I guess you can never write us off. It’s the same Leeds Rhinos for me.”