This had been earmarked as a season of transition for Leeds from the moment David Furner arrived from Australia to take charge of the eight-times Super League champions. However, as the weeks pass and performances continue to cause concern, it is becoming clear it is a bigger rebuilding job than anyone could have imagined.
With a third of the season gone, Leeds have lost eight out of 10 games and could find themselves four points adrift at the bottom after the weekend.
Furthermore, the nature of this defeat is proof Furner has a huge job on his hands. “The first half, that’s where everything went wrong,” the Leeds coach said after watching his side fall 21 points behind by half-time. “The contact wasn’t good enough. I think they scored on their first three visits to our try line. They ran harder than us.”
By the end of the opening quarter, dismal defending had allowed Hull KR to score three of the easiest tries they will put on the board this season, with Tommy Lee, Danny McGuire and Will Oakes scoring to make it 18-0. Not even the first of Konrad Hurrell’s four tries shortly after Oakes’ score could spark a comeback, with Leeds’ defensive habits coming back to haunt them.
By half-time they had conceded two more tries. First, another former Leeds player in Mitch Garbutt charged over some timid defending, before Craig Hall’s pass found Junior Vaivai unmarked in the corner. Hurrell’s second made it 31-10 at half-time but there was no way back for a side clearly bereft of confidence.
Perhaps you can point the finger at Leeds’ failure to adequately replace the players who led them to sustained success over a decade as another reason for their struggles and it was one of those who led the way in overwhelming them at Craven Park. “It’s special for him, playing Leeds,” said the Hull KR coach, Tim Sheens, of McGuire, the Leeds legend who was imperious.
“We’d lost three consecutive games before this and this keeps our heads up,” Sheens added. “We’ll look back and see this could be a vital win.”
The concern for Hull KR will be how they allowed Leeds a brief glimpse of a comeback midway through the second half, with Hurrell’s hat-trick and a Brad Singleton try suggesting the game was not yet won.
A Hall penalty eased any fears and the teenage Jack Walker made the mistake of kicking out on the full twice in successive minutes to hand Hull KR the platform for late tries from Josh Drinkwater and Ben Crooks that helped take them into joint fourth. Hurrell scored his fourth try in the final minutes.
“Go easy on him, we are talking about a 19-year-old boy,” Furner said of Walker. “The way he batters his body against the bigger men, he will learn from that.”
Hull KR Hall; Vaivai, Crooks, Linnett, Oakes; McGuire, Drinkwater; Masoe, Lee, Mulhern, Tomkins, Hauraki, Lawler. Interchange Lunt, Keinhorst, Addy, Garbutt.
Tries Lee, McGuire, Oakes, Garbutt, Vaivai, Drinkwater, Crooks. Goals Hall 7. Drop goal McGuire.
Leeds Walker; Briscoe, Watkins, Hurrell, Handley; Sutcliffe, Lolohea; Peteru, Dwyer, Oledzki, Smith, Jones-Buchanan, Merrin. Interchange Albert, Cuthbertson, Donaldson, Singleton.
Tries Hurrell 4, Singleton. Goals Sutcliffe 3.
Referee James Child. Attendance 8,292.
