Too many individuals were poor against Leeds, says Justin Holbrook

Drew Darbyshire

St Helens coach Justin Holbrook said too many individuals had poor games in their first defeat of the season against Leeds.

The score was tied at 12-12 at half time but current Super League champions Leeds ran-out 28-20 winners on Friday night.

And Holbrook said too many of his players had an off-day.

He said: “I’m disappointed, that’s for sure.

“I thought we were unlucky in the first half. Tommy Makinson went over but couldn’t get the ball down and Leeds took their chances in the second half.

“Robes (James Roby) and Benny Barba were fantastic but too many others weren’t and that’s why we didn’t win the game.

“We had too many guys not play well enough tonight but full credit to Leeds, they are a tough team to play and they showed why.

“There were a lot of individuals who didn’t perform the way they should and you get what you deserve.”

And Holbrook has called for his team to bounce back against Hull Kingston Rovers next Friday.

He added: “We need to improve our execution.

“We came up with some poor passes to no-one and that’s an improvement that’s needed.

“I don’t want to take anything away from Leeds. They played really well and got a good win so I’m more disappointed with some of our boys and the way they played.”

Holbrook confirmed that England prop Alex Walmsley will be out for a ‘few months’ with a neck injury but doesn’t know the true extent just yet.