MARK APPLEGARTH said York Knights must fix some “fundamentals of the game” if they are to avoid being on the end of any more scorelines like the 66-16 defeat to Leeds Rhinos.
“I’m disappointed, very disappointed if I’m perfectly honest,” said the York coach after a third straight loss.
“I knew that we had to be on today to get a result, and Leeds had to be slightly disjointed, and unfortunately for us, it was roles reversed, wasn’t it?
“The themes we need to keep chasing as a group are a bit of composure when we do have the ball down there (near Leeds’ line), ruck control and investing our energy in the right areas when we’re transitioning the ball.
“Until we fix those two key fundamentals of the game up against teams such as Leeds, we’re not going to be on anything other than a scoreline like we found today.
“We won’t get too low, just like we don’t get too high when we’ve had a good win. It’s really important that we stick together as a group.
“We’ve just got to stick at the drawing board fixing up those two things.
“I’ve got a group in there that cares. I know it’ll be hurting them a lot, and there are some pretty ruthless lessons that we’re learning along the way.
“I think there’s a blueprint in there for us to learn how to manage a game of rugby league when you are on the front foot.”