Leeds Rhinos: Jamie Jones-Buchanan encouraged despite Saints defeat
Leeds Rhinos interim coach Jamie Jones-Buchanan said he felt encouraged by what he saw in their 26-0 defeat to St Helens.
The Rhinos are next to bottom after losing for the sixth time in seven games in Super League this season.
However, Jones-Buchanan thought his side did some good things in their defeat to the champions.
He said: “It was a tough result. Since the age of four, I could never get my head around teachers and coaches talking about performance, it was always about the win for me.
“But this week I got it. I was desperate for a performance or certainly a response and we got signs of it.
“26-0 is never going to be good enough for Leeds Rhinos at home but I just feel there are some of the building blocks, I was encouraged by some of what I saw.
“I know St Helens were missing some high quality players but you add (Leeds players) David Fusitu’a, Harry Newman, Richie Myler, Zane Tetevano and Brad Dwyer to that mix and you are going to start executing a few more plays and things look a little bit different.”
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Jones-Buchanan continued: “I’m excited by the tools I’ve got to work with over the next week.
“We asked some questions but just didn’t have enough zip or enough speed. We were not patient enough to build a game but we will get there.”
Leeds half-back Aidan Sezer missed the game with a groin strain, whilst forwards Alex Mellor and Bodene Thompson were absent due to illness and personal issues respectively.
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