'We have to move on': Ash Handley issues Leeds Rhinos warning for Wakefield Trinity Super League derby

Rhinos will go into the game as hot favourites, a week after breaking their duck for the season with a stunning 25-24 victory at St Helens.

Trinity are yet to get off the mark - and have not scored in their past two games - but that puts them in the same situation Rhinos were seven days earlier.

And though defeating the Betfred Super League and World Club champions on their own soil will send Leeds into the derby in buoyant mood, Handley has warned what happened last week will have no bearing when the first whistle sounds at Headingley in round four.

“If we’d lost [last week’s game] we’d have said we’ll put it to bed and move on,” the winger/centre stressed.

“We won, but we’ll do the same. We’re focused on Wakefield and we’re putting a plan in place to try and deal with them.

“It’s just about being on the same page with each other. I think we looked quite disjointed [in the opening two rounds], especially against Warrington and a little bit against Hull FC when we bombed quite a few chances.

“When we play together I think we are a lot better team and we’ve got a great side. There’s still a lot of bodies to come back so we are just looking forward to getting the season going now.”

Handley opened Rhinos’ account at TW Stadium, finishing off a sweeping long-range move begun by Nene Macdonald deep in Leeds’ territory.

It was his first touchdown since a home win over Warrington on August 19 last year and he feels some personal pressure has been lifted.

He said: “I was getting a bit nervous because I’d played all the trial games and didn’t get a try, then we were two games into the season and I hadn’t got a try. It was nice to get over and it was just good to help the team.”

While last week’s win is now a thing of the past, it has given Rhinos a fresh injection of belief and an indication of how to beat teams who are strong in the middle of the field.

“It was very important,” Handley added. “It was a big game and a big game for Saints, coming home after what they did over in Australia so I suppose a lot of people thought we were just taking part in their parade.

“But we wanted to prove a point and get our season going after we started with two losses. We went there with a plan and it didn’t go perfectly, but we stuck in there and it was huge for our confidence.

“We needed something like that just to get our season going. Everyone’s feeling quite good, even though there’s still stuff to work on.”

Rhinos played an expansive game, shifting the ball to the edges and limiting the involvement of Saints’ big forwards. That was significant after Leeds were outmuscled in round one at Warrington.

“They are so strong through the middle, we just wanted to move them around a little bit,” Handley said of St Helens.

“Any time you get space on Saints it’s good, but we just wanted to push and work hard for each other.”

While it was a positive performance overall, one thing Rhinos will be looking to improve on this week is concentration near their line and after having scored.

A knock-on by Derrell Olpherts handed Saints an easy try early in the second half, to give the hosts a 24-12 lead, but Handley praised the off-season signing for the way he responded and said that is a model for others to follow.

“You always make mistakes in games,” Handley stressed. “You’ve just got to let go of them, move on and go again and I thought we did that quite well.

“After Derrell dropped that ball I thought he was outstanding, he let it go and he was great for us.

“That’s what you have got to do in this sport, you can’t think about what’s gone before, you have got to look forward and keep confidence.”