In-form Rhinos have more to give, insists Sinfield

CAPTAIN Kevin Sinfield says there is still plenty of improvement left in this Leeds Rhinos side.

They head to Hull KR tomorrow as one of the form teams in the country having lost just once since going down at Castleford on February 10.

Though currently sat in fourth place, the Super League champions have two games in hand over their rivals, remain in touching distance of leaders Wigan Warriors and could stretch their unbeaten run to seven matches if they avoid defeat at Craven Park.

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But Sinfield, whose drop goal proved the difference at Hull KR last August, told the Yorkshire Post: “It’s alright having games in hand – we’ve still got to win those two. We are where we are and we have got to keep improving.

“Hull KR has always been a difficult place to go and I think they’ve been a bit hit and miss this season.

“They’ve pulled out some great performances while obviously the Wigan result (84-6 loss) stands out as well at the other end of scale.

“For me, though, I think that was probably a one-off.

“It’s going to be a really tough effort for us over there and it’s been good to down tools for a couple of days to get ready to get back into Super League.”

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Leeds – who have beaten Wigan, Warrington and won in Perpignan during this current sequence – successfully negotiated a safe passage into the Tetley’s Challenge Cup with a hard-fought 28-12 victory over Castleford last Friday.

“It was always going to be tough after the run we’ve had,” added England captain Sinfield, whose Leeds side are unchanged.

“Having lost to Cas earlier in the year they were always going to come here with their tails up.

“They’ve had that change of coach, too, and Danny Orr is very well respected in their group.

“Their lads put in a shift for him.

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“Add to that all the controversy about Rangi (Chase) and whether he’s staying or going, it was always going to be hard but thankfully we’re in the next round to face Huddersfield.

“There was certainly some moments where we probably could have got a bit more out of the game but there was some tired bodies out there.

“We’ve had a bit of time now with a nine day turnaround.

“That’s been really good for us and we’ve used our time wisely to come back fresh for Rovers.”