Leeds boss Rohan Smith rues missed chances in Hull defeat
Photo: James Heaton/News Images
Leeds coach Rohan Smith bemoaned his side’s failure to make the most of their opportunities in their 22-18 defeat to Hull.
The Rhinos suffered their second defeat of the season on Friday night as they fell short to Hull in their first home game of the season.
Leeds looked to bounce back from their opening night defeat at Warrington when David Fusitu’a went over with 10 minutes remaining.
But a late effort from prop Scott Taylor saw the Black and Whites secure their second win on the spin.
“I thought it was a game of missed chances,” admitted Rohan Smith.
“We created a lot of ruck speed in the first half but went unrewarded with our failure to find the right play on the end of that.
“They were the critical moments. Overall I thought our defence looked largely in control. We won a lot of physical collisions, but some of the things you win you don’t get rewarded for as well, but that’s out of our control.
“There was a lot of intent and effort we put in, and we put ourselves in a great position to win the game. These things are pleasing but we didn’t go on with it, so everyone is very disappointed.”
Papua New Guinea international Nene Macdonald impressed on his Rhinos debut.
Rohan Smith added: “He had some tremendous carries and he was a handful. It was a steady way for him to start, I thought.”
Tony Smith claims the bragging rights against nephew Rohan Smith
The Black and Whites followed up their 32-30 win over Castleford with a hard-fought win over his nephew Rohan’s Rhinos.
“I’m glad we came away with it but it could easily have gone the other way,” Tony Smith said. “And at times it looked like it was going to.
“We’re still getting to know each other. We had a couple of lapses where we got our pants pulled down in defence, but we’ll fix that. We’ve got some way to go but I think most of the teams have at this time of the year.
“I liked our urgency and desperation on our try line. We showed some character there and it was a character-building game. But we’re honest with each other, and we know it could have very easily gone the other way.”
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