No excuses from Leeds Rhinos as Liana Leota demands greater accountability in quest for Super League top four

The 49-48 reverse at London Pulse last Saturday was their second such narrow defeat in 12 games so far this season. They also lost by three points when they hosted Pulse back in March.

In a short, sharp 18-game season it can be the difference between eighth where they sit now and fourth place, which with just six games remaining is a position they still hope to achieve this year. If Rhinos are to snatch fourth and the final spot in the end-of-season play-offs, then for Leota her team needs to use the hurt that she is feeling - and she hopes they are feeling - to fuel their response.

“Pulse are third and it’s nice that we ran them so close but the bitter pill to swallow is that we’re better than them, and every time that we’ve come so close in these games, we’ve always been the better team but we just don’t have that killer instinct to get over the line and be ruthless in our approach,” she told The Yorkshire Post.

“I don’t know how you find that once you’re already in the season.

“The game last week was ours for the taking, we had plenty of opportunities to close it out, particularly in the second, third and fourth quarters but we just couldn’t get it over the line.

“If you think those one-point defeats could have been wins or draws, the table would look different. So it’s hard to lose by one, you’d almost prefer to lose by 20.

“As a coach it’s hard to take but as players they know they’re so close, that gives them the inspiration and desire to keep going.”

Leota is looking for greater accountability on the court, having spoken in the past of the importance of experienced internationals in Geva Mentor, Caroline O’Hanlon and Joyce Mvula, measured against the drop off in age to a much younger group.

“We’ve got a really good group that really gets along but we need certain individuals to say that’s not good enough, or don’t throw that ball away,” she said.

“That’s what we’re missing, that grit between the teeth when things aren’t going right, someone to stand up.

“We’ll keep working and searching for that.

“For me, we’re competing. Sometimes they don’t believe how good they are. I’m always telling them I see how hard you train, how good you are with each other, the connection you have. Sometimes they don’t believe it until it’s being produced out on the court.”

The narrow defeats are putting the pressure on the remaining games, which continue with two home games in Sheffield on the next two Friday nights, starting with sixth-placed Saracens Mavericks at the English Institute of Sport tonight (7.30pm).

“Our mentality this week has been that we’ve got to attack this like we’ve got no game next week,” said Leota, who has made no secret of highlighting fixtures they have to win.

“We know we need to beat Mavs in order to keep our top-four hopes alive but I think for us, looking back at games, it’s our starts that continue to kill us.

“We were down by five points in the first five minutes at Pulse and you can’t keep giving the really good teams, especially the ones we need to beat, a head start.

“Once again Saracens is a game we know we can take. Our defence has to turn the ball over and in attack we’ve got to be very clinical.

“Going into this week there can’t be any excuses.”