Leeds Rhinos v Toulouse Olympique: Brad Arthur warns there can be no repeat of 'burning' defeat

Brad Arthur admits the recent defeat at Castleford Tigers is still "burning" in the back of his head as Leeds Rhinos prepare for another potential banana skin.

The Rhinos lost the derby despite scoring seven tries, a frustration compounded by Castleford's heavy loss to 12-man Wakefield Trinity last weekend.

Arthur has warned his side they cannot afford to repeat the same mistakes when Toulouse Olympique visit Headingley on Friday.

"We don't want to keep going over old ground but it was a real lost opportunity against Castleford," said the Leeds boss, who is set to hand a debut to young back-rower Zak Lloyd amid a spate of injuries.

"I'm not taking anything away from them but we scored seven tries. You can't score seven tries and lose the game.

"That result still needs to be burning in the back of their heads because it's burning in the back of my head every day.

"We need to make sure that those things don't catch up with us."

Leeds are protecting the only perfect home record in the competition in the closing stages of the regular season.

Leeds eventually went down to Castleford in a topsy-turvy game - and it is still eating away at Brad Arthur. (Photo: Matthew Merrick/SWpix.com)placeholder image
Leeds eventually went down to Castleford in a topsy-turvy game - and it is still eating away at Brad Arthur. (Photo: Matthew Merrick/SWpix.com)

Arthur has made the Rhinos' Headingley form a key focus since his arrival.

"We talked at the start of the year about the importance of playing at home," he said.

"It wasn't so much about winning every game and remaining unbeaten; it was just about the style of footy we play here and that our fans know exactly what they're going to get from us and also reward them for supporting us.

"That's the commitment we've made to our home performances. It'll be no different with our remaining games. If that's good enough to chalk off more wins, great.

"But it's more based around what we want to stand for and the expectations and standards we have when we play at home."

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