Overall thoughts?
Huge disappointment. We let ourselves down against a spirited team that dug deep and competed hard all year. We just let ourselves down in that first half particularly with not executing opportunities was the issue this week. It's not always the same thing or the same person. We've got to keep chasing the answers.
The volume of errors...
Today it was unforced in open space that probably hurt us the most which isn't a common issue. We made quite a few in-roads in that first half and didn't finish it off. We need to change some things and improve a lot.
Added frustration playing 12-man
It doesn't make it more frustrating, as we've seen it can galvanise teams in Super League and the NRL. An extra man doesn't always mean extra anything but we just didn't play well enough. Collectively and individually just nowhere near the standard. We've had a lot of close games this year where we've been in it and that's the first thing of sport, to be in the contest, but our ability to start some games, finish others, has not been good enough.
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Is this as low as you've felt?
I feel low after every poor performance and loss. The losses never leave a coach I don't think. You learn to deal with them better but you tend to carry them with you. There's a lot of hurt and disappointment with me personally and in the dressing room. There's a lot of hurt, it's not close to the standard, we've got to find it quick.
Trying to pick them up...
It's maybe a good time to dwell on it and think things through and for us as coaching staff to identify the areas we think we can improve on quickest and prepare for the Huddersfield game.
Leon Ruan
He went well. He was ahead of schedule there with the failed HIA to Nene, we think he landed on his head, we can't see it from the camera angle we had. We think he landed on his head, he came on a bit earlier than anticipated. He started with us in July last year while still playing for Doncaster, I don't think he's missed a training session. He's a terrific young bloke, he's worked his whole life for that opportunity today, to play for Leeds. He gave a good account of himself on debut, it's a shame we couldn't celebrate a win for him but he's certainly one for the future and maybe a bit more for the present as well.
Is it a good time for a week off?
Sometimes it's good to dwell on a poor performance for a while and work out how much you want to fight through the other side. That's a bit of what I just said to the guys, it's a similar situation to last year, you can choose to fight or choose to tap out. There's only one solution when you sign up for coaching and that's to fight. Credit to Mark (Applegarth) and his team. They've got themselves a result today, that guy keeps fronting up and I've got a lot of respect for him.
Do you still have faith in the squad?
Yes, I do. When I got here last year I believed in the players when I arrived. There's a short and long-term thing every week in coaching where you're trying to build something for the future while trying to win every week. My belief won't change, that's where a lot of the frustration among the coaches and the players and the fans comes from. There's talent there, a few weeks ago we had some monumental performances. You don't become a bad team, but we were a bad team today. We've got it in us to play much better.
Do you lack leaders in games like this?
Leadership comes in different forms, some are leading the way by trying to show the way. But you can't do other people's jobs for them. Ash (Handley) and Cam (Smith) have taken a lot of leadership on in the last couple of months and others have a voice when needed. But individually you've to do your job and own your area. At the moment we're accumulating too many poor plays back to back and that's giving other teams an opportunity.
James Bentley's reaction to being subbed...
I'd be more surprised if he was OK with it. He's a great competitor and if a player shows some frustration about being replaced that's no problem to me. It's about moving forward and on to the next task. He won't be the first or last player to be frustrated with being replaced.
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