Leeds Rhinos v Castleford Tigers: Mind over matter as Brad Arthur dismisses tiredness talk

Las Vegas offers a stage like no other and a chance to prove there is life beyond the NRL.

But the glitz and glamour of Sin City is a world away from the day-to-day realities of Super League.

On Sunday, Leeds Rhinos return to normality with a West Yorkshire derby against Castleford Tigers at Headingley.

Questions about their energy levels are inevitable after finishing a hectic trip with a commanding win over defending champions Hull KR – but Brad Arthur will not allow standards to slip.

"We'll be fine," said the Rhinos boss, who is without Brodie Croft due to a minor hamstring issue.

"That's a choice: you can sit around and feel sorry for yourself or you can back up the great job we did while we were away.

"We had a lot of fans, sponsors and corporate people who travelled over to watch us but not everyone was able to do that.

"The rest of our fans and corporates would have stayed behind and stayed up to watch us at midnight because they're true supporters.

"So for those guys, and the guys that went over, we've got to back that performance up this Sunday. We're at home and I'd like to think they'll be hanging out of the rafters with excitement.

"We've got to play like that. It doesn't mean we're chasing 58 points. It's about our attitude towards how we want to play.

"We owe that to ourselves and we owe it to those guys."

Leeds were irresistible on the big stage at Allegiant Stadium, running in 10 tries to send a message to the rest of the competition.

The players were allowed to celebrate before flying back to England – their reward for a successful trip.

But since returning to training on Thursday, Arthur's squad have been left in no doubt that the fun is over.

"The players did the right thing around behaviours and responsibilities," said Arthur. "They knew we were there for a reason.

"They got to have a quiet beer after the game and enjoy it. Once we did our review over there, we said, 'What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas'.

"We've moved on now. It was a great week but we're ready for what's next."

That next challenge is Castleford, a team that love nothing more than beating their big-city rivals.

The Tigers are in the early stages of another rebuild under Ryan Carr but Arthur can already see green shoots of progress.

"I think they've definitely improved on last year," said the Australian, who took Carr under his wing at Parramatta Eels.

"It seems to me like they've got a lot more resilience and fight in defence. That's what I'm expecting from a team coached by Ryan Carr.

"I've worked closely with him before. He's very diligent and is a good coach. He'll be pushing a lot of effort areas."

A derby against Castleford has traditionally been a testing assignment for the Rhinos but they have enjoyed recent meetings with their local rivals, winning six in a row to shift the balance of power.

While Carr appreciates the magnitude of the occasion from his time as an assistant with Leeds, he is keen to find a middle ground.

"I've experienced this derby before and understand the enormity of the rivalry," said the Tigers boss, who took over in the off-season. "But every game we play is a hard game in this competition and every team is hard to beat.

"You have to make sure you play well every week and get some consistency.

"I know it's a big game in terms of the rivalry but for me it is another opportunity for us to go there, play well and put two back-to-back performances together."

Castleford travel to Headingley buoyed by a welcome win over Huddersfield Giants – the first of the Carr era.

The Australian knows it won't be an overnight turnaround but he wants the Tigers to stay true to the values set out in pre-season.

"We're disappointed when we lose, winning makes everything better, but the process hasn't changed whether the result goes our way or not," he said. "Our culture and the things we believe in haven’t changed.

"We're just trying to get some consistency in our club. It's something that has probably plagued us as a club for the last few years.

"That's something we have spoken about but at the end of the day, it's about our actions week to week now."