YEP rugby league writer Peter Smith reflects on Leeds Rhinos' crucial win at Huddersfield Giants.
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00:00Well, Brad Arthur is off the mark as Leeds Rhinos coach. Rhinos have come here to Huddersfield
00:06and won 34 points to 6 in the game. Realistically, they had to take the points from to have any
00:11chance of staying in the hunt for the top six in MetFed Super League. They did that
00:15in good style, I thought. First half was very scrappy, 40 minutes of rugby league, but Leeds
00:20played some good stuff in the second, dominated that spell of the game and scored some nice
00:27tries. A lovely try scored by Lackey Miller off a pass from Brodie Croft. Brodie Croft
00:32scored an excellent, solid try himself and a good finish for Ash Hanley for his try,
00:37which initially was ruled out by the referee, but the video referee gave the nod after a
00:42long look, decided he'd got the ball down for that one legally. A little bit of a controversial
00:47call that one, but Hanley was very good, again, I thought, for Leeds. Rhys Martin had another
00:52big game and Macdonald, James Macdonald as well, in the second row. It was very good
00:56to see James Bentley come back for his first rugby since March. He played the final 30
01:01minutes and got through fine. He adds a bit of solidity and defensive aggression, really,
01:10in the middle of the field, which is where he played today. He played in the middle and
01:14on the edge as well. He had a good game. Croft was a little bit off, I thought, but he's
01:19a class player and when he turns it on and when things happen for him, he makes things
01:23happen on the field. An improved performance from Lachie Miller as well. So, overall, a
01:29good night for Leeds. They can be better, certainly with the ball, but defensively they've
01:34improved a lot in their two games under Brad Arthur. The line speed is much improved and
01:39they look a more organised outfit. If they can continue to improve at this rate, I think
01:44the top six is still a possibility. They've got a hard run in, so the odds are against
01:49them, but Leeds are improving and that's a big thing. I think winning a game in this
01:55fashion today will give them a lot of confidence as well going forward. A massive game next
01:59Saturday at Salford. If they win that, they're right in the hunt. Salford being four points
02:04as we speak, well, two, four points before this weekend ahead of Leeds. Two now, as it
02:11stands with Leeds having played one game more, but if Leeds can go to Salford and win that
02:16one, they'll be right in the hunt for the six. Were they to get there, they'd have a
02:21little bit of momentum behind them. So, it's interesting times, but Leeds certainly are
02:24improving and that's what we wanted to see.