Leeds Rhinos' Jarrod O'Connor

Yorkshire Evening Post

Leeds Rhinos' Jarrod O'Connor gives his thoughts on coach Brad Arthur, his own form and this weekend's game at London Broncos.

Transcript

00:00Congratulations, obviously a top one match, particularly the second half performance near perfect.

00:06Yeah, obviously it's a long pitch, we can still fix up, but just the intent we had going into that second half,

00:13and I think the bench middles and that, so Simon and Justin have come back on deep in the starting,

00:19obviously we can, and we all worked really well working over their middles,

00:22and then they ended up tiring out a bit at the end, which is what we were very proud of.

00:25Yeah, is that what the difference was between the first half and the second half?

00:29You seem to get, once you've got some momentum, you keep your foot down.

00:32Yeah, I think there was so much we could have fixed up, and just the completions and that,

00:35which I think we did, and we were catching the ball a lot faster on the hard line and that,

00:39so that obviously all went towards it, and just obviously relying on our strike players to do what they do each week,

00:44and I think they really did that today.

00:46Yeah, and it's a big win in terms of time, isn't it? Are you looking at the time at all?

00:51Yeah, I know there's obviously not much more we can do now,

00:53I think we just win as many games as we can and just see what we can do,

00:56but if not, obviously we're just building for next year,

00:59but at the minute I think there's obviously not many points in it,

01:02so we just need to rely on a few results to put our way in the few spots we can take in now.

01:06Yeah, you mentioned next year, were you pleased about the news about Bradford?

01:10Yeah, everyone's really happy, the professionalism he's obviously come over with,

01:14and we obviously all know what he's achieved over in Australia with Parramatta,

01:18and we're all happy to have that sort of knowledge on board,

01:21and we're just trying to learn as much as we can off him,

01:23because we don't know if he's going to be here longer than next year,

01:27but hopefully he will be, but obviously we don't know that,

01:29so we're just going to get as much on him as we can,

01:31so wherever he comes in next we can carry on that form.

01:34What's he like as a coach in dressing, does he shout and carry on, or is he quite rigid?

01:38No, he keeps his head, he's very honest with players,

01:42which I think is good for our players, which we could have had,

01:47and I think he's brought a level of accountability to everyone,

01:51which is also good for him, but we need to improve on what we're doing really well.

01:56And you've got to build on that second-half performance when you go to London,

01:59because that's not a tough game, is it?

02:01Yeah, London's one of the tougher sides to play, I think, sometimes.

02:05Obviously we need to prepare like they're a top side,

02:08because we've got no second chances any more after Odyssey Magic weekend,

02:13so just prepare like they're a top side and I'm sure we can get the job done.

02:16You had a warning, didn't you, when you played them a couple of months ago

02:19and they went to Golden Point, which was a bit hairy?

02:22Yeah, well, obviously they've got nothing to lose really at the minute,

02:25so any team that's like that is dangerous, they're just going to throw the ball about

02:29and they just want to finish off their season as strong as they can,

02:31so we've obviously got a lot to play for and we're ready for the challenge.

02:34And you personally, obviously you're not starting at the moment,

02:37but you're getting a lot of game time in various roles,

02:39you seem to be enjoying yourself?

02:41Yeah, Brad spoke to me about my role at the minute,

02:43and obviously I want to be starting,

02:45but if he feels like that's the best role for the team at the minute,

02:48then I'm happy to do that.

02:50I think he's working quite well at the minute,

02:52I think the impact that some of our bench mills are coming on with

02:55is obviously providing a roof, which I think we're going to need.

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