LEEDS RHINOS’ first home defeat of the season was compounded by news that key back-rower James McDonnell will be out for several more weeks with a pec injury.
McDonnell was absent for the 20-16 defeat to Leigh Leopards which ended their perfect Headingley record this season – and has given Wigan Warriors the chance to move level on points at the top of the table.
The Perth Bears-bound forward is expected to miss upcoming trips to York Knights and St Helens, and may also be a doubt for the potentially crucial visit of Wigan on Saturday, September 5.
“He is likely to miss a couple of games with a pec strain,” said Leeds coach Brad Arthur, who also lost Jack Bird to a failed head-injury assessment against Leigh.
“Matt Lodge (a new signing from North Queensland) is expected on Sunday, and he’s playing for his future.
“We’re starting to get a couple of injuries in the forwards so he’s a welcome addition.”
Arthur insisted the Leigh loss presented “no concern, but plenty to learn from”.
He said: Credit to Leigh, they scrambled pretty well and were really brave.
“We dominated most of the stats but not the scoreboard. We just got some detail wrong and they owned their big moments.
“We tended to go a little lateral and there might have been a bit of frustration with our decisions – we didn’t just get some of our execution right.
“We need to be better at the back end of our sets and in transition.
“We got a bit jumpy on the edges and they are a hard team to defend against. We’ve got some work to do there.
“It’s not a concern, there’s plenty to learn from it but they (Leigh) really turned up for each other and the play-offs are going to look like that.
“We’ll dust ourselves off and get ready for the next four games.”