Rohan Smith bemoans ‘disappointing moment’ that summed Leeds up

Drew Darbyshire
Rohan Smith Leeds Rhinos Mickael Goudemand News Images

Photo: Craig Thomas/News Images

Leeds coach Rohan Smith was disappointed with his side’s kick-off reception at the start of the second half that summed their night up against Hull KR.

The Rhinos weren’t able to deal with a kicking masterclass from Jordan Abdull as they fell to a 20-12 defeat at Hull KR on Friday night.

Hull KR were in control throughout thanks to Abdull’s boost, and Smith said the most disappointing aspect of his side’s display was their kick-off reception at the start of the second half, which resulted in Hull KR regaining possession straight away and Kane Linnett scoring shortly to put the Robins 18-0 in front.

Smith admitted his side had struggled with deal with Abdull’s kicking on a wet and windy night in East Hull.

He said: “It’s probably where you don’t want to be playing on a night like that with the rain coming in sideways against probably the premier kicker in the comp, he’s got an array of them.

“I thought we defended our try line particularly well and overall our tackling was good. We had a few tough moments in that first half with diffusing the kicks.

“The way the second half started was particularly disappointing that led to that try.”

Smith added: “They kicked well in the first half in awfully difficult conditions. I thought it was one of those days when you needed some bounces to go your way and I don’t think any did today.

“It wasn’t through lack of effort, we defended our line exceptionally well aside from a couple of kick defence moments.”

Rohan Smith praises Rhinos character to never give up

Smith was pleased his side didn’t throw the towel in and came back into the game from being 18-0 down.

He said: “We put our head down and played together and found a little bit of opportunity at the back end.”

Next up for the Rhinos is a derby clash against Huddersfield on Easter Sunday, live on Sky Sports (6pm).

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