Rohan Smith explains Leeds Rhinos win, bemoans Castleford’s disallowed try and only try and reveals Andy Ackers problem – Total Rugby League

LEEDS RHINOS secured a 32-6 victory over local rivals Castleford Tigers in a tough encounter at Headingley Stadium this afternoon.

The Rhinos were the better side from the start, leading 14-0 at half-time before turning the screw in the second forty minutes with three tries.

It’s fair to say, after a string of poor results, that head coach Rohan Smith was delighted to get the win: “It was obviously very enjoyable and we attacked the game from the start.

“We played with confidence from the kick-off and didn’t give the other team a glance. We were quite relentless with our work and a few players came back into the fold like Paul Momirovski who made the difference on the right.

“It was a good team performance, from start to finish we were a team. We may have dropped a few points there, but we were strong in a difficult week.”

Smith also bemoaned Castleford’s solitary try after what appeared to be an obstruction in the build-up to Elie El-Zakhem’s effort.

“Their only try came from a turnover on the opposite side, which came from a hurdle. Brodie (Croft) had one in the first half and was told to go down.

“They didn’t look at it and I thought we deserved a zero today.”

Andy Ackers was a late withdrawal due to concussion as Smith explained what happened and when he was notified.

“I knew Andy Ackers wasn’t available at 7.34pm last night but his replacement Corey Johnson did well.

“The plan was to start Ackers this week but I thought Jarrod O’Connor stepped in and was phenomenal with his intent and speed.

“The Ackers had a delayed onset concussion. I hadn’t heard of it until that phone call last night, which came from a fight last week.

“I think he’s doing pretty well today and hopefully he can resume the process of getting back into the game.”

So what will Smith do in his two weeks off?

“We have to do some work, clearly we are not where we should be. We have work planned during the week and then we’ll have a couple of days off to freshen up to have a good week ahead of the Hull game.”

Smith also praised 20-point marksman Rhyse Martin as well as midfielder Matt Frawley.

“Rhyse’s hitting was great but offensively he hit the line hard and had some good chances today.

“It was probably Matt Frawley’s best game. I think he had some good, solid performances, but today he reaped the rewards of playing short and using the lead today and found his own try.

“He came up with some really good plays, he and Brodie stepped up this week and took over the attack.”

The Leeds boss refused to be swayed by the argument that he was only playing Castleford, a team that had won just three games and drawn one.

“It was a strong performance today, no matter who you play. There is noise being generated outside this building, so we have to deflect it and fight through it.”

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