Rhinos thrashed fellow winless side Strathclyde Sirens 73-34 at the University of Huddersfield last Saturday for their first victory of the Super League season at the fourth time of asking.

Leota said: “I suppose with a scoreline like that you get so frustrated because I knew that performance had been in them from the start, we’d had two scalps in us that we couldn’t quite take.

"For us, it was good learning to play to the scoreboard and put scoreboard pressure on, that’s something we haven’t been able to do, so good evidence that we’ve got it in our lockers.

Reason to smile at last for Liana Leota, Head Coach of Leeds Rhinos (Picture: Matt McNulty/Getty Images for England Netball)

“And it was nice get all the combinations on and it didn’t affect the scoreline. I was really pleased we could make lots of changes and get everyone out on court and that scoreline pressure didn’t ease. We’ll take the win and see where we go from here."

Next up is a trip to high-flying Loughborough Lightning on Saturday.

'I knew that performance was in there' - Leeds Rhinos Netball chief relieved to get off the mark