McDermott: Rhinos’ defence was the key

Brian McDermott says Leeds’ defensive resilience was the key to their 18-16 success at Wakefield on Saturday.

The result moved the Rhinos back up to third in the Super League table and McDermott believes his team are there on merit.

“Defence got us the game although I felt we were very challenging in offense too before losing possession,” said McDermott.

“You have to give them credit for that as it wasn’t necessarily that we were loose with our skill – they put their bodies in front and defended a couple of big plays from us.

“So I’m not going to be too critical about our offense but I felt defence was the key. I’m pleased about many areas of the game and they certainly struggled with Moony’s (Joel Moon’s) kicks.

“I’m happy where we are at the moment. We have some improvement to do but I don’t look around the competition and think, my god, we have catching up to do.

“I look around and see that most teams are struggling to get some combinations together in attack yet most teams seem to be able to defend. There is only one team out there which has nailed their attack consistently and that’s Castleford.

“We’d like to get a bit more cohesion and consistency attacking the opposition’s try line.”