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Leeds Rhinos were beaten 26-0 by Catalans Dragons in Perpignan

Leeds Rhinos were hammered 26-0 in Perpignan by Catalans Dragons on Saturday night, Rohan Smith’s side have now lost five of their opening 11 in Super League this season.

The Round 11 showdown wasn’t exactly a thriller, but I picked up a few talking points, and this is the Debrief…

The terrible attack of the rhinos in Leeds

The Rhinos were thumped 61-0 when they last visited the Stade Gilbert Brutus in September, on a day when Sam Tomkins took the game royal with a late goal.

It wasn’t nearly as bad in defense this time around and two of the Dragons’ four tries came in the final five minutes with Leeds clearly tiring. Furthermore, the Catalans were nowhere near their clinical best, fumbling numerous chances early in the game.

What hasn’t changed for Leeds from eight months ago was an inability to trouble the hosts’ defense at the other end, though, with incredibly little for the traveling Rhinos fans to get excited about.

Smith’s side simply weren’t good enough in attack, and on the rare occasions they did get into a decent position, there was always an error or mistake of some description. Even injuries considered, not good enough. It seems I’ve written this a few times about Leeds already this season…

Lachie Miller’s worst performance to date

We’ll start by saying Miller has been excellent for Leeds so far this season since his arrival at Headingley, a player we’ve been happy to see sit a notch or two above most of his team-mates.

But boy did he have a stinker on Saturday night in Perpignan, a real nightmare of a show. It started when he dropped a high bomb early on and never recovered from there.

The Aussie was poor in defense and attack, notably giving up a ball when Leeds tried to get back into it late in the second half after being awarded a further six in the Dragons’ 30 following a knock – Mr.

Having struggled with a shoulder problem minutes before, Miller was then put on the back by Arthur Mourgue for the Catalans’ penultimate try and that summed up his evening. We’re sure he’ll be glad to get back on the plane home.

Catalans Dragons make home advantage count

Jon Wilkin, in the Sky Sports studio, thought the Catalans put in a performance worthy of a “five or six out of 10”, and what we think he’s getting at there is that they still have a lot of untapped potential. this year.

We’d agree with that, BUT you’re not in a bad position if you’re top of the Super League table for rounds 11 because you haven’t reached your potential. The Dragons are one of four clubs now on 16 points, with eight wins from their opening 11 since 2024.

Steve McNamara’s side tend to make home advantage count, especially when it starts to heat up in terms of temperatures in the south of France, as they did this week, and they did so against Leeds, even though they were not at their best.

After being beaten by both Leigh Leopards and Wigan Warriors in the last two weeks, the Catalans are back to winning ways and have three of their next four games at home, the other being a trip to St Helens. Big few weeks ahead.

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