Smith praises hard-working Rhinos

I thought my boys deserved it Leeds coach Tony Smith Match report

Leeds coach Tony Smith was a relieved man after his side almost threw away a 19-0 lead against St Helens in their qualifying semi-final at Knowsley Road.

Jamie Lyon's inspired form in the last 10 minutes almost earned an unlikely victory for Saints, but Leeds dug deep to hold on to their Grand Final place.

"Jamie Lyon is a fantastic player and very dangerous," said Smith.

"We did well to keep them quiet so long but at some point there's going to be a price to pay. We worked very hard."

The Rhinos kept St Helens at bay in the first half, opening up a 12-0 lead, but Lyon's magic brought Saints close to a famous win.

"I thought my boys deserved it," added Smith.

"Jamie Lyon did some good things throughout the game but I thought we did a good job on him overall."

Leeds endured a difficult end to the regular season, with a run of four straight losses only ended with an unconvincing win over Wakefield in their last match.

And Smith said the two-week break away from the rigours of Super League competition had helped the Rhinos out of their slump.

"The break helped us without a doubt," he said.

Anderson is confident his side can bounce back next week

"It has been a long campaign and it refreshed us. I am worried about burn-out and it is timely for us to have another break."

St Helens coach Daniel Anderson gave credit to Leeds for keeping them at bay for so long.

"We were thwarted by Leeds' fantastic scrambling defence in the first half," said Anderson.

"I thought we had points in us but we just didn't get a huge amount of luck or ball in the early part in the game."

Saints will take on the winner of Saturday's match between Bradford and Leeds next week, and Anderson insisted his side would not be affected by their defeat to Leeds.

"I am very encouraged by our effort and commitment for the whole game," he said.

"We were rewarded for that in the last 10 minutes with some fantastic tries and some good points.

"We are not worried about playing next week. We will take up the challenge."