Leeds forward Carl Ablett is calling for the Rhinos to sharpen up their act for their Challenge Cup clash with Huddersfield Giants at the weekend.
The Super League leaders were beaten 38-24 at Widnes Vikings and now face a Giants side who go into the televised knockout meeting on Saturday (2.30) who cruised to a 19-0 win at Salford Red Devils in the last round of matches.
With the Giants and Rhinos having drawn 24-24 at the John Smith’s Stadium in Super League just a couple of weeks ago, the stage is set for a tight encounter and Ablett said the hosts could not afford any mistakes.
“We are playing an in-form Huddersfield side and there’s no second chances in the Cup,” said Ablett.
““We got what we deserved at Widnes and it’s going to be a long and tough week in training.
“We need to focus on defence and turn it around.”
Ablett said that defence would be the focus for the Rhinos after their third defeat of the season.
“We talked about defence all week before the Widnes trip, but then we conceded 30-odd points,” said Ablett.
“I’m pretty sure we’ll be doing a lot of defence this week and we’ll have to be good, because we were just poor.
“It’s just about our performance and any team in Super League who defends like that is not going to get anything out of the game.
“You normally get what you deserve and we definitely deserved nothing at Widnes.
“We were way too soft defensively, too many soft tries and they were dominant really.
“We were nowhere near good enough, so it’s going to be a tough week this week.
“But we’ve got to get back on it for a big game on Saturday, so it’s how we react.”
