Leeds Carnegie v Ealing Trailfinders: Lowes demands Leeds produce ruthless approach in home bow

Promoted Ealing Trailfinders arrive at Headingley tonight having yet to pick up a win in the Championship and are the only side that remains pointless.

On their last visit to Yorkshire, they were vanquished 79-9 by Rotherham Titans and have lost against Cornish Pirates and London Scottish, too.

Leeds, meanwhile, overcame an opening day loss against Nottingham to deliver impressive wins on the road at Cornish (27-20) and Bedford (29-28).

But Lowes admitted: “We need to be really switched on attitude-wise to this game. The players have trained extremely well this week, if I’m honest, but we need to be strong. Ealing have not had the best start and had some points put on them.

“But in sport there is that worry about just switching off a little bit against teams you are expected to beat easily. That’s the big message this week; our mental approach to this and to be ruthless.”

Lowes insists his side should have been more prolific in their two victories so far.

“I thought we were fantastic at Cornwall,” he said. “There was some logistical problems we had in getting down there and some of the facilities in the hotel; it was just a bit of a mess behind the scenes.

“But on the field I thought they were fantastic and played really well. We should have got further ahead, though, and it should not have been as close as it was.

“We put in quite a strong performance at Bedford, too, but if we’d have been slightly more clinical we’d have won by more and again it wouldn’t have been such a nail-biter. We want improvements against Ealing.”

It is the club’s first home game of the season and also Lowes’s first return to Headingley since leaving his role as Leeds Rhinos assistant.

He makes just two changes to the side which won at Bedford, centre Pete Lucock and back-row Chris Walker coming off the bench to swap places with Fred Burdon and James Doyle.