McClennan's night marred by late slip

Leeds coach Brian McClennan claimed it was a sombre dressing room despite gaining an emphatic 44-8 victory after his side relaxed their grip on the game at Wakefield.

The Super League champions produced a bewildering first-half display to establish a 38-0 lead but Wakefield hit back to win the second half 8-6 and restore a touch of pride.

"It was a very, very pleasing first half," said McClennan. "That's the best we've played this year. We were really clinical and put loads of pressure on."

He added: "It was very disappointing in the second half but, on the other hand, Wakefield showed a lot of character to come back and compete like they did. It's hard to compete when the game is gone.

"We're getting too many penalties against us and that's a big concern. It could have been a real happy dressing room but it's a bit sombre."

The Rhinos were more like the Harlem Globetrotters in a purple patch in which they rattled up 34 points in just 17 breathtaking minutes which took the game away from the outclassed Wildcats in an embarrassingly one-sided first half at Belle Vue.

Wakefield were a shadow of the team that beat Bradford in their opening game but they responded to a tongue-lashing from coach John Kear by playing with more determination in the second half, scoring consolation tries through Luke George and Ryan Atkins.

"Perhaps we fell in love with ourselves," said Kear. "We didn't have the edge that we had prior to Bradford and we will have to look at every aspect of our preparation to see if we are doing anything wrong.

"Leeds were very good indeed. They played some real good rugby league with the ball in hand.

"It's a very big lesson for us. If we are to be an elite team, we have got to turn up each week ready to play."