Stay positive: Ashton Golding confident Leeds Rhinos will bounce back quickly

Leeds slipped a place to third in the table following the setback which lifted Warrington off the bottom of Super League.

The visitors were reduced to just 16 available players in the opening minute, an injury to Liam Sutcliffe, but defended well for long spells under huge pressure on their own line.

They also mounted a spirited second half fightback, after going 18-4 down and Golding insisted “we’ve still got our chests up”.

Said the 20-year-old: “In the first half we played a lot of the game in our own half.

“Hats off to Warrington, they played really well as we knew they would. It was no surprise how they played, it was just frustrating.

“We won’t be too down about it, we’ve had a weekend to reflect on it and we’ll go again [today].”

Golding added: “We dug deep and we had to defend a lot. It’s credit to our middle boys, they are moving, they are physically fit and it’s great to be behind that, just to be able to say ‘get there’ and they are there.

“It makes my job a lot easier, but it doesn’t take the sting away from the result. It’s a big blow.”

Golding refused to use Sutcliffe’s injury as an excuse.

He lasted just 60 seconds before being knocked out in a tackle which resulted in a yellow card for Warrington’s Ben Westwood.

The second-rower was unable to return, but Golding stressed: “I didn’t look at that too much.

“It’s not my concern as long as there’s another 12 men on the field with the shirt on. We all know the score, you play with pride and represent the club and do yourself justice. I think every person on the field did that.”

Leeds are now one place and a point ahead of county rivals Hull FC, who they visit on Good Friday.

“They love playing us and we love going there,” Golding said of the bank holiday showdown. “We will preview them as well as we need to and there won’t be any surprises. There’s never any surprises, that’s one of the things we pride ourselves on, our preparation to every game is awesome.

“We’re still in a good position. We’ve had a few scratchy games when we could have got a win and [last Friday] was no exception.”

Golding could be in doubt for the visit to East Yorkshire after taking a heavy bang to a shoulder. Sutcliffe will need to pass the Rugby Football League’s concussion protocol before being cleared to play again while Brett Ferres and Brad Singleton remain suspended.

Stevie Ward, who has been out of action for more than a month with a hamstring tear, suffered a setback in training last week, but Keith Galloway could return from an Achilles injury over Easter and Jack Ormondroyd (knee) is also getting close to a comeback.

Leeds have recalled teenage forward Josh Jordan-Roberts from a loan spell at Bradford Bulls and he will also come into contention.