Brian McDermott insisted there was no need to panic after Leeds lost to Wigan less than a week before facing Manly.
Wane content with his Warriors after opening account on home soil
Leeds coach Brian McDermott insisted there was no need to panic after seeing his side beaten by Wigan less than a week before the Big Soup World Club Challenge.
A hat-trick of tries from Warriors winger Josh Charnley meant the Rhinos suffered a 20-6 loss at the DW Stadium on Saturday night.
The result was hardly the ideal preparation ahead of next Friday's clash with NRL champions Manly at Headingley, although it was the Rhinos' first defeat since losing to the same opponents in the Challenge Cup final last August.
McDermott refused to believe that the upcoming fixture against the Sea Eagles had any bearing on his team's performance, instead choosing to praise Wigan for their display.
Tough trip
"Whether we had the World Club Challenge next week or not, we were going to go head strong for this and try and build some momentum," he said.
"We still needed to get two points so I don't think it had a bearing.
"We're certainly not panicking. We didn't get spanked. There are no huge problems.
"We were playing a team that lost their first game and who were in front of a big home crowd.
"Wigan were always going to be tough today. We talked about this being a 12-round world title fight and it had a feel to that. We just couldn't land enough punches."
Leeds trailed 12-0 at the break and, although they hit back with a try from Darrell Griffin in the second half, Charnley completed his treble in the 66th minute to kill off any suggestions of a comeback.
"I thought Wigan were good," McDermott added. "They beat us to the ball, they beat us to the tackle, they beat us to the ground and they had a better kick chase, not by a huge margin.
"I didn't think we were massively poor but there were too many areas where we were off tonight.
"I wasn't excited by anybody's performance but I wouldn't say anybody was poor."
The Rhinos boss also confirmed that Kallum Watkins, who missed the game through injury, is expected to be fit to face Manly, while he will monitor the progress of winger Lee Smith after he went off with a rib problem.
Meanwhile, opposite number Shaun Wane hailed a "big improvement" from his players following their shock home loss to Huddersfield in the opening round of the 2012 Stobart Super League season.
The Warriors included 20-year-old centre Jack Hughes in their starting line-up and 21-year-old prop Tom Spencer came off the bench in the second half to make his first-team debut.
Content
"It was a big improvement," Wane said. "I'm very content tonight. I knew the players would respond and they have done.
"It's been a tough week. I couldn't wait for this game to come and neither could the players.
"Last week against Huddersfield, that wasn't us. Today we showed a lot of character, guts, enthusiasm and a lot of skill against a very talented Leeds team.
"It was all down to the work of our middle unit. When they run hard and bash people, it makes it very easy for the halves to play.
"It's about making sure we turn up with the same attitude against Bradford next week."
On the two youngsters he picked to play, he added: "I thought Jack Hughes looked outstanding. He had a real solid game against a talented player in Carl Ablett.
"Tom Spencer enjoyed a taste of a big game. He's one for the future, he's a
real good kid."
