Dave Furner: Game management letting Leeds down

Leeds coach Dave Furner blasted his side’s game management and last tackle plays following their defeat at Salford.

The Rhinos lost 28-16 to the Red Devils at the AJ Bell Stadium on Friday night.

Leeds are currently 10th in the Super League table, having won just four out of 14 games this season.

Speaking after their defeat at Salford, Furner commented: “Our game management, miscontrol and last plays weren’t good enough.

“Our game management and last plays let us down. The players have got to learn that it isn’t good enough and we didn’t allow ourselves to get in an arm wrestle.

“We need to get better kicks on last plays and we got pressured because we didn’t get any ruck speed.

“We have been pretty good starting our first halves but Salford had a plan to slow us down and they didn’t allow us to play the way we wanted. There was a little bit of a fightback in the last 20 minutes of the second half but it just wasn’t good enough.”

Ava Seumanufagai made his debut for Leeds after only arriving in the UK from Australia earlier this week.

The 27-year-old has 118 appearances to his name after spending six years in the NRL with Wests Tigers and Cronulla Sharks.

On Seumanufagai’s debut, Furner said: “He’s strong and powerful.

“He only got off a plane and a train ride a few days ago but he will add a lot of value to this team.

“I thought it was a good effort from Ava to play. He had to get few other things ticked off before the game to make sure he was right to play.

“I left it up to him [whether he played] but he was keen and he would’ve enjoyed that. He will get better so we have got to keep working.”

Furner revealed Jamie Jones-Buchanan suffered a back injury in the game and will be assessed in more detail ahead of Saturday’s Challenge Cup clash against local rivals Bradford.