Brad Arthur’s frank assessment of Leeds Rhinos performance with feelings made clear

Brad Arthur said his side’s performance had let the club down after Leeds Rhinos fell badly short on a big night.

Leeds were resoundingly beaten by Wigan Warriors, going down 40-8 in a match that was essentially a shootout for the League Leaders’ Shield.

Hampered by the early loss of Lachie Miller, Leeds were unable to produce anything like their best, while Wigan were outstanding as they secured top spot from the Rhinos, who had occupied it for the 15 previous rounds.

Arthur pulled no punches in his assessment after the game, admitting the better side had won.

“We’re disappointed, we didn’t put our best foot forward tonight,” Arthur said. “It was a big occasion for the club, not through effort, but we just let ourselves down, we let the club down tonight. We just spoke to the boys then; it’s certainly not over, but we’re going to have to dust ourselves off and we’ve got a big game next week, and we need to regain some form.”

Arthur added: “I just think we were outplayed. Their defensive pressure, their scramble was really good. We were only eight points in to start the second half. We had a couple of opportunities that we’d been scoring and we didn’t score, whether it was the last pass or we didn’t get over the line.

“They scrambled really well and held us up. Maybe if you get one of those there and it gives you a bit of boost and a bit of energy, a bit of belief, maybe we might have been able to fight back into the contest.”

Despite that, Arthur is confident that his side will be able to respond accordingly from the setback heading into the play-offs.

“They’re really disappointed in the sheds as they should be,” Arthur said. “As expected it’s going to be a tough weekend for us but I think our response has been positive all year. In the last two years, on the back of any performance, confidence might be down for a day or two but once we get back in there and we get training and we get back out there next week and get your first run and your first tackle, we’ll be right.

“Like I said, there’s still a long way to go in this competition but next week is probably really key for us that we come out and we play well.”