BY JOHN DAVIDSON
Leeds interim coach Jamie Jones-Buchanan has called for more accountability and pressure on his players after his side were smashed 40-16 by Castleford in the Challenge Cup.
The Rhinos fell to their sixth loss from seven games in all competitions after the Tigers posted seven tries at Headingley and knocked them out of the Cup.
Jones-Buchanan, caretaker at the club since the exit of Richard Agar on Monday, described the 24-point defeat as a “disappointing result, really disappointing” and admitted there is “underlying problems” at Leeds.
“Undeniably, the underlying problems will take a while to solve,” he said.
“There’s some habitual problems in there, some cultural ones, and just some people who haven’t been put under the blowtorch enough or the heat enough to perform at a level where they’re comfortable at being uncomfortable.
“You have to be able to do it physically when it’s tough. If you’re going to be undisciplined, if you’re going to keep giving penalties away and keep getting put in the sin bin, then you’ve got to be mentally and physically tough enough and resilient enough to be able to defend it out and we’re just not there yet.
“That will take a few weeks to fix up.”
Jones-Buchanan wants his players to take more ownership for their performances.
“More accountability and pressure on the players, but that isn’t some sort of tyranny either,” he said.
“That’s got to come from them. I’m trying to get them to show a bit more gratitude to each other. ….I’m not losing heart, I’m not losing faith. I’m up for the fight.”
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