'We seem to be getting worse': Leeds Rhinos fans upset after Salford Red Devils defeat

Our fans’ panel are clearly getting fed up with Rhinos’ inconsistency, poor starts and unforced errors, but were also frustrated by the performance of referee Jack Smith.

BECKY OXLEY

Errors were the theme of last week’s match, too much dropped ball and a 10-3 penalty count against us meaning another two points lost on the league table.

The crowd weren’t happy with the ref, but like I always think, you have to read the game and know what the ref is going to blow for and not give him the excuse to give a penalty.

We have spells when we play well and do hold on to possession and dominate, but we need to start doing this for longer. Sin-bins and silly penalties need to be lessened.

We need more consistency; the players supposedly see this but they need to act. The games are coming thick and fast and we need to do it sooner rather than later.

We have big matches coming up both in the league and Challenge Cup and we need to start picking up points more consistently.

We have Wigan and Saints in the next couple of weeks and we need to spend some time this week working on matters and working out why things are going so wrong

I’ve read a lot that people are wanting the coach Rohan Smith to go. I don’t think this is the answer. I can understand the fans’ frustration, though, as I am also feeling it. We need to stick together and ride the storms.

DAVID MUHL

Lets get this out of the way first, Salford are a well-coached, good-performing team. Having said that, they didn’t need the help they got from Leeds to win last week’s game.

Leeds managed to keep them scoreless for 21 minutes, but the signs were already there that this was not going to be Rhinos’ night. Numerous unforced errors were yet again Leeds’ downfall.

Kicking out on the full, losing the ball in their own 10 and trying Impossible offloads were just some of the errors and I’ve lost count of the number of times this season Leeds have been marched 10 metres for dissent. That’s a worrying sign, as was two players squaring up to each other on the field at the end.

What I don’t understand is that on paper, this team of players are class, they are skilful and have loads of ability, they are just not clicking at the moment.

They can play some great rugby as shown in the 38th minute when a lovely move resulted in a try for Richie Myler. The trouble is we don’t play this type of rugby enough.

There were very few players who covered themselves in glory on Friday night; Myler had a reasonable game, but even Cam Smith, who has been the stand-out player this year, had an off day. A lot of the forwards just seemed to go missing on the night.

Our next three games, against Wigan (twice) and St Helens, look extremely difficult and we look unlikely at this point to come away with anything unless there’s a mighty improvement. I don’t feel we will be having a cup run this year, but who knows?

So come on Rohan Smith, get the boys sorted and playing the type of rugby we know they can. It’s good to have a long-term plan, but a few wins now would be nice.

IAIN SHARP

Leeds appeared mentally to be already camped on The Mall last Friday night against Salford, producing a lethargic and lacklustre opening 70 minutes and looking only ‘something like’ with a last, desperate 10 minutes when the game was already gone.

Don’t be mistaken that Salford were any good; a half decent, half-motivated side would have stuffed them. I may not be a coach, but if you’re daft enough to give Marc Snyed that much room, then his kicking will hurt you.

Many fans will also blame the referee, who did his best to kill the game as an entertaining spectacle. He dispensed with trivialities like the forward pass rule early on and then allowed almost ‘Coronation length’ holding down at the play-the-ball.

The six again rule was also clearly being abused/exploited, which was obvious to the rest of us. The rule needs reforming as to how it is applied and maybe we should go back to the awarding of penalties, rather than the dreaded klaxon. Were the match officials that naive to

what was going on? On paper, we have the forward power to potentially batter sides and we definitely need to come out of the traps snarling in the next game against Wigan.

JOSH JACKSON

A Friday night under the lights at Headingley after an international break was a great opportunity for us to put our poor performance against Leigh right, but another slow start, which we have done consistently this year, saw us 12-0 behind and up against the odds again.

It was silly errors and poor discipline, however I thought the referee was shocking. A brilliant try put us back in the game but that was about it for us: no desire and no leadership are just two of the issues on display last Friday.

It was another really worrying performance which has also led to rumours of a player bust-up after the match.

I really don’t know where this team goes from here. We seem to be getting worse and with Wigan twice and Saints coming up , it is really concerning for us. Rohan Smith has lots of questions to answer and needs a solution fast.

A massive change is needed somewhere and it needs to happen fast before we see ourselves down near the bottom of the table, with Castleford.

TOM GOLDSWORTHY