Leeds Rhinos let club down in Wigan Warriors defeat, admits Brad Arthur

The Rhinos went into the penultimate round knowing victory would have secured top spot and a first trophy since 2020, only to be comprehensively outplayed by their rivals.

A damaging defeat was compounded by the loss of star full-back Lachie Miller to a potentially season-ending injury.

"We're disappointed," said Arthur. "We didn't put our best foot forward.

"It was a big occasion for the club. It wasn't through effort but we let ourselves down and let the club down. We were outplayed.

"It's certainly not over but we're going to have to dust ourselves off. We've got a big game next week and have to regain some form. It's important we play well."

Leeds' Shield hopes are not completely dead heading into their final regular season fixture against Hull FC but they are relying on Wigan slipping up at home to Catalans Dragons.

Arthur accepts that the chances of a defeat for the Warriors, who have now won 15 games straight, are remote.

"We're going to focus on what we need to do, which is to play well and see what happens," added the Leeds boss. "But I think they're too good a team to let this opportunity slip.

"The competition is still up for grabs. We just have to get young Ferg (McCorrmack) prepped up for next week."

Young full-back McCormack is set for only his fifth career appearance as a result of Miller's untimely injury.

The Australian lasted just seven minutes on Saturday night before suffering hamstring damage.

Arthur revealed he had been playing with a fractured eye socket and the plan had been to rest him against Hull.

"He's not great,” said Arthur. "He's got to go and have scans but I don't think it’s just a strain; I think he's torn his hamstring.

"It's hard to replace a player of his quality and it's hard to replace a full-back.

"He's so integral to your defensive line and how he returns the ball. We were a bit disjointed from it but we've got to be a bit more resilient."

Leeds are well placed heading into the play-offs despite a humbling result in front of a sell-out Headingley crowd.

Warrington Wolves' defeat to Wakefield Trinity all but assures the Rhinos of a top-two finish, providing a welcome weekend off and a home semi-final.

While he is confident that the Rhinos can come again, Arthur is not looking beyond Hull.

"I think once we get into the play-offs, it's a different ball game," he said. "You throw a couple of players back into the mix for both teams and it changes everything.

"Our focus at the moment can't be the play-offs because there's still round 27 to go. The test of our character will be in our response next week.

"The players are really disappointed in the sheds, as they should be. Our responses in the last two years have been positive. There's still a long way to go in this competition."