TotalRL speaks to Ash Handley and Ashton Golding

They’re Leeds’ two young stars who have been exposed to the first team following a severe run of injuries at the Rhinos this season – and both Ash Handley and Ashton Golding insist they can see light at the end of the tunnel at Headingley.

Speaking to TotalRL, winger Handley admits that the Rhinos have to forget about their exit from the Challenge Cup – their first loss in that competition for three years – as quickly as possible as they look to focus solely on their league form.

Handley also admits tonight’s game against Castleford is a big one.

“Coming off the back of another run of losses which have built up over the last few weeks it’s a big game,” he said.

“Hopefully we can put things right that haven’t gone for us last week and get a win.

“We haven’t been beaten in the cup for a few years now, having won it back-to-back, so to get knocked out of that is quite bad for us. We have to look to the league and hopefully we can that to the back of our mind and climb up the table.

“We have to put the cup behind us; there’s nothing we can do about it, hopefully we can get our heads switched on and put in a good performance.”

Meanwhile, Golding, who played at fullback last week with England international Zak Hardaker out on the wing, has insisted that there is no mention of pressure inside the Rhinos camp despite them languishing at the foot of the table.

The youngster believes that all the pressure is something that is an external issue, not a problem within their camp, and says that a good run of form is “coming”.

He said: “We’re taking each week as it comes and we’re only focussing on what will be a big game against Castleford – the priority is making sure we get the two points and nothing else. People will say that there’s pressure on us and stuff like that but we just want to ignore all that.”

Golding also believes a local derby under the lights at Headingley is the ideal time to drag their season back on track.

“There’s no better time to put things right; it’s a great stage to get back on track and the fans will turn up and put a great effort in: it’s up to us to back that up.

“We don’t talk about pressure, we’re still very confident and very positive. We know our ability and we know how good we can be, it’s just about working hard and trusting that it’ll click. It’s coming, it’s coming for sure. The wins will come.”