Super League: Leeds Rhinos coach praises Jamie Peacock after 80-minute effort
Leeds coach Brian McDermott admitted he couldn't get Jamie Peacock off the field during the 22-14 win over Castleford.
Last Updated: 08/05/14 11:13pm
Ben Jones-Bishop, starting in place of Ryan Hall on the wing, and Kallum Watkins bagged two tries apiece for the visitors, but it was a trio of their team-mates that McDermott felt played crucial roles in the win.
Danny McGuire and Kevin Sinfield were both picked out for special praise from their coach, along with prop forward Jamie Peacock.
The 36-year-old refused to be substituted as he stayed out on the field for the entire 80 minutes of a pulsating clash played out in wet conditions.
"I attribute that win to three people," McDermott said. "JP takes all the bullets off everybody and Maggs (Danny McGuire) and Kev (Sinfield) just marshall the troops. Without them, I'm not sure how that game looks.
"I tried to take JP off three times but he just turned round and said 'no'. I need help. Does anybody dare tell JP to come off. I cringe when I tell young Chris Plume to go on and say to JP he's got to come off."
Dig in
The Rhinos actually trailed 14-12 at the break but defended heroically to keep their hosts scoreless in the second half.
"I thought it was a very good performance," McDermott added. "It looked a little different to what we've done so far this year. Clearly the wet and the conditions hampered both teams.
"We had to dig that one out. Castleford have some potency. They still punched a couple of holes in us and they kept on probing so it's pleasing to keep somebody who has scored a lot of points down to two tries."
The eight-point defeat was Castleford's heaviest of the season and coach Daryl Powell remains proud of his players' efforts.
They were not helped by having such a short turnaround after losing to Huddersfield on Sunday. Leeds, in contrast, had two extras days to rest after beating Wigan last Friday.
"We made too many errors in the second half and we just lost our way a bit," Powell said. "We looked a bit tired in the second half, it looked like a Sunday-Thursday turn-around.
"We couldn't build any sustained pressure on Leeds.
"We're learning some harsh lessons at the moment and if we learn them we should come out stronger.
"We're in the battles every week and tonight we weren't far away, but I thought Leeds deserved to win the game. They were pretty professional."