Leeds Rhinos vs Wigan Warriors

HEAD COACH
ROHAN SMITH
Welcome back to Headingley and the
visit of Wigan Warriors. I would like to
welcome the directors, coaches, players
and supporters from Wigan who have
made the trip over this afternoon for
our third meeting this season.
3 | RHINOS VS WIGAN WARRIORS
Wigan are the form team in Super League
at present having won their last six games
to move top of the table after the last round
of games. They will arrive here in a confident
mood, and we need to make sure we match
their level of enthusiasm and intent. Our
game at their place earlier this season saw
us produce a strong second-half performance
to get the win whilst the Cup game here
was a tight affair that could have gone
either way. They are a well-coached side who
will have their eye on securing the League
Leaders' Shield in the next few weeks.
We face another must-win game to continue
our drive for a play off spot. Last week at
Hull was a team performance. I thought
that we defended particularly well. We had
a lot of young kids playing in the game and
we had to play under pressure for a bit. I’m
grateful that our young players are getting the
opportunity to play under pressure and that
will put them in good stead for the future.
I know a lot of our supporters enjoyed Sam
Lisone’s hat trick last week and it was certainly
something that raised a lot of smiles in the
changing room. Sam had some big plays in
the game that influenced the momentum,
but he has been doing that over the last
three or four months. He’s been a real upside
to our team and has made the most of
his minutes. He’s really had an impact so
it was nice to see him get a few tries. He
fit in with the group from day one and has
been making good steps forward. I really
appreciate his leadership and the way that he
has stepped up in the wake of having seven
or eight of our top seventeen not available.
This week we have confirmed the signing of
Matt Frawley to go alongside our other new
recruits Mickaël Goudemand and Lachie Miller.
Matt’s desire to come to the Super League
competition really resonated with me. His
game has matured and developed a lot over
the last four years. He has worked with Jamal
Fogarty and Jack Wighton at the Raiders which
has helped his game improve. He is a very team
orientated player who likes to get his hands
on the ball which is what we were looking for.
He is an organiser and wants to be part of our
journey; he had done his homework on our team
before we spoke and it was impressive to hear
what he wants to bring to our group. He comes
from a strong team environment at Canberra
and I think he will facilitate others playing well
around him as well as his own personal skills.
Finally, I would like to wish Lois Forsell and the
womens team all the best for their game this
afternoon. They had a great win at Saints last
week and are looking good for the play offs.
Enjoy the game
Rohan