Leeds defence good but attack could be better, admits Brian McDermott

Leeds coach Brian McDermott praised his sides defence in their win at Hull KR but said they need to work on their attack.

The Rhinos came from being 18-12 behind at half time to turn it around and win 20-18 against the Rovers at KCOM Craven Park on Sunday afternoon.

McDermott was pleased to see his side keep Hull KR scoreless in the second half, but admitted their attack could have been much better.

He said: “It has been the same story for the last three weeks.

“We have been good in effort, parts of our defence were outstanding and patches of our offence was. There is a lot of improvement in us, but this week we have come away with a tight win instead of a tight loss.

“Defence is a huge part of the game and you can’t go anywhere without strong defence, but we can’t just keep nipping games by a couple of points. You could argue that we have lost our last two games because we weren’t as cohesive in attack and we seriously lacked that for the final 20 minutes, but you don’t come to Hull KR on a Sunday afternoon when it’s not a TV game and expect an easy game.

“Hull were always going to put a lot of effort into the game, with all the ex-Leeds players they have and they played with a lot of ascendancy in the first half so with all that considered, I would give it a good thumbs up as a win and it was good to get the result.”

McDermott revealed that Brett Delaney may have popped his AC joint (separated shoulder), but he will be assessed further this week.

Next up for the Rhinos is a clash with Warrington Wolves at Emerald Headingley Stadium on Friday, 7:45pm kick-off.