McDermott praises experienced duo

Leeds boss Brian McDermott singled out two of his senior players for special praise after the Rhinos recorded a 50-24 victory at Salford on Sunday.

Danny Maguire and Ryan Hall were influential figures as Leeds jumped up to second in the table with two games of the regular season to play.

“Danny’s involvement is still of an extremely high quality and it was the most dominant I’ve seen Ryan for some time,” said McDermott.

“We were outstanding in the first half and we were very committed in the second half when Salford made more of a contest of it.

“In the past when we’ve had a chance to perhaps go top or second, we haven’t quite grasped it but we looked very focused in the first half.

“Salford are not in a false position, we knew they are a good team, and sometimes you have got to fear the opposition to bring out the best in you. We were on our guard.

“I don’t have much of an issue with the second half because it was more about Salford switching on and being good than us dropping off.

“It was the first dry track we’ve been on for a while and I think that played a part. Offensively, that’s as good as we’ve been for a long time.”