Liana Leota bullish over Leeds Rhinos Netball chances of surprising Manchester Thunder

Rhinos began their fourth season in the elite division with just one win from their opening six games.

But they end the first round of fixtures in the 10-team league against the champions this weekend, having won their last two games to put themselves in position to lead the chasing pack in the business end of the season. Rhinos are currently seventh but just one point below fifth, albeit their is a tier of teams above them in the four play-off positions that are currently out of reach.

However, energised by a first-half display at Team Bath last Friday that Leota described as the “performance I’d been waiting for”, the director of netball said: “That’s what we’re aiming for - we lost to London Pulse by one, we lost to Cardiff Dragons by one, if you even draw those we’d be fifth already.

“Going into round two there’s going to be a target on that teams’ back that we need a win from in order to close that gap on the top four.”

Going to Manchester on Saturday and overturning the joint-leaders would certainly put the division on notice. “Manchester aren’t unbeatable,” added Leota, pictured. “I still think they’re playing around with their squad, I know they’ve got a distinct style with a threat all over the court.

“But I’ve played for Thunder, a lot of our Rhinos girls have, there are chinks in their armour you can create if you apply pressure and put your foot on their throat, so there is opportunity there.

“It is a hard task, but it’s definitely one we’re up for, we’ve got the calibre of players. Geva Mentor and Zoe Davies are starting to connect really nicely and are winning a lot of ball.

“Against Loughborough Lightning we had the most turnovers against them of any opposition, so I know we can do it, it’s just that back-to-back effort.”

Although delighted with the first-half performance last Friday when they established a 15-point lead, the fact they then only added 28 points in the second half of a 67-51 victory leaves Leota still demanding a full 60-minute performance.

“The first half I was blown away and I said that to the girls,” said the former New Zealand international. “But then the third and the fourth quarter it was welcome back to the start of round one of the season. I suppose I’m greedy, I always want more.

“But that first-half performance was what I had been waiting for - the passages of play, the consistency, they put their foot on the pedal, and the score reflected that.

“We felt it was a win we could take but we wanted a convincing win to say that we are here - even though the first couple of rounds we weren’t - we’re now finding our feet and finding our rhythm coming into round two of fixtures.

“It gives us confidence going into round two. Thunder on the weekend will be a hard task but one that I hope we’ll be up for. The players have gone into this training week with a spring in their step, their shoulders back and more confidence.”