LEEDS RHINOS went down 13-6 to Leigh Leopards at Headingley this afternoon.
Despite leading 6-4 at the break, Leeds were poor in the second-half as Leigh prepared perfectly for their Challenge Cup Final next weekend with a great comeback.
But Rhinos’ head coach Rohan Smith took a lot of positives out of the defeat.
“(We have been beaten by) a good team, they are very cohesive and scrambled hard an defended their goalline as they have all year,” Smith said live on Sky Sports.
“It was a tough game, but I’m really proud of our players, they did really well. Three or four of those were under the weather and probably shouldn’t have played but they put their hand up and a lot of young kids have experienced a really hard game that will benefit them well for the future.
“We have a very young team in the spine, we have players playing their first year of Super League in those positions. I would say credit to Leigh’s defence as well, they found a way to shut it down and it was hard to get momentum at times.”
Smith was asked about whether he considered bringing Jack Sinfield off the bench earlier instead of with ten minutes remaining.
“I considered it, it’s tough for a young kid to sit on the bench for any period of time but especially when the game is on the line.
“Jack has had a disrupted build up with the last month or six weeks. I’m conscious of taking care of young players.”
Smith outlined that the club will still fighting for a play-off spot.
“For sure (we will keep fighting), while ever the ladder says we can we will still fight for it. We have been beaten by a good team but there’s lots to like about the game today.”
