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Brad Arthur has admitted that he challenged his side on being tough in Leeds Rhinos’ come from behind win against Wakefield Trinity, with that element being particularly pleasing to him. Wakefield had won all twelve Super League games in 2026 when they had taken the lead but Leeds Rhinos have ended that run with their 24-22 win, in a game where they led for just three minutes. Chris Hankinson’s late try levelled the scores but Jake Connor iced the kick to hand the Rhinos the lead and ultimately the win, as well as potentially placing one hand on the League Leaders Shield. Asked if they had taken that step to silverware, Arthur was dismissive post-match as he instead highlighted what most pleased him. “The step that we took was to come from behind. I think that they haven’t been beaten when they’ve scored first. That’s the step that we took,” he declared on Sky Sports. “We know that if you’re prepared to fight right to the death, 80 minutes is a long time. It’s a long time in our game and we had to play to the 80th minute, and I challenged them at halftime, let’s get to the 80 minutes and see where we end up.” Arthur also admitted that he wasn’t best pleased with his side’s first half showing, explaining that he set forth a challenge for his players to be tough when speaking at half-time. He explained: “There was plenty of good moments in the second half. I challenged the boys at half-time to show that we are a tough team because there might have been some question marks at half-time. “I was really happy with that. That was a good brave performance. I thought young guys stood up. Alfie (Edgell) stood up. Prez (Cassell) stood up, they did a really good job for us.” Super League’s IMG nightmare, Hull FC hit new lows, and League Leaders Shield debate – click here to watch the latest episode of the Serious About Rugby League Show Leeds Rhinos needed tough test, claims Arthur Speaking more on that, he added:”I challenged them just how tough we are. Tough is not standing there putting your gloves up and fighting. It’s fight when the chips are down, working hard for each other, making all those tough choices, and we did that. “Our performance wasn’t great, but it was full of character. That’s what I really liked. They had that belief, didn’t give in. We just needed to put a decent 40 minutes in, and they scored first to start the second half but still didn’t lose any hope or any fight, which is a really good belief.” Wakefield boss Daryl Powell pointed to Cameron Smith as the game-changer with the forward scoring a try from the bench and putting in a fantastic performance, and when asked about that, Arthur paid credit to all of his bench. “I thought our whole bench did. They came on and did a really good job,” he said before admitting that such an encounter was a necessary one. “We probably needed that sort of game. We haven’t had that tight of a contest in a while. Our middles have run off their feet a little bit early. They haven’t played at that sort of speed for a while. “It was actually really good for us and then the bench came on. I thought Prez, Tom Holroyd and Cameron had done a great job for us.” WHAT A COMEBACK! 🤯 pic.twitter.com/9V7RSKZXR3 — Sky Sports Rugby League (@SkySportsRL) August 7, 2026