Leeds Rhinos centre Joel Moon admits it was embarrassing for the Rhinos to be knocked out of the play-offs in round one, but he still believes the club has had a good season.
The Rhinos beat Castleford to win the Challenge Cup, but ended the year on a sour note, losing their last six Super League games in a row and being eliminated by the Catalans in the playoffs.
Leeds winger Tom Briscoe dropped the ball on his own line in the dying stages of the match and Dragons half Sam Williams dived on it to steal a famous win for the French team. Cover your eyes, Leeds fans, because here it is again.
“It’s disappointing, especially at home to get beaten by the Catalans,” Moon said.
“We thought we could get further, so to get knocked out in the first round of the playoffs is pretty upsetting. It was a freak try and upsetting for us.”
Despite the defeat Moon believes the season was still successful for the Rhinos after they took out the Challenge Cup after six successive final defeats.
“It’s awesome to be at this club, and to win something like that is massive. But after that you want to go on and win the Grand Final as well. So to go out the way we did is pretty embarrassing. But you’ve got to look at the positives as well. It was a good year.”
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The Australian outside back, who scored 17 tries in 21 matches, doesn’t feel that tiredness was a factor after the Challenge Cup campaign.
“I guess you’re going to get a few sore players but when the semis came round we were fine,” Moon said.
“We gave it our all, and it just came down to the last minute. It wasn’t down to anything else. Catalans played well and they deserved to win it.”
Moon said Leeds want to claim another trophy next year and he is excited about seeing new signing Adam Cuthbertson from Newcastle Knights in action.
“I’ve played against him and I’m looking forward to seeing him over here. Adam will fit in well and he’ll be a good addition to the team,” added Moon.
“We’ll be planning for next year and hopefully have a good pre-season.
“All the boys are raring to go and want to get that Challenge Cup or take out the Grand Final. Hopefully it will be a good season for all of us.
The 26-year old underwent surgery on both his knees last week, but is expected to recover for the start of the 2015 season
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“It’s alright, it’s getting there,” Moon said.
“One of those was cleaned up. The left one’s the one’s that bad. I need to rest it, and there’s not much you can do with it.”
