Leeds Rhinos' disciplinary and injury woe punish them again after Toulouse defeat

Living in the results-driven industry of professional sport it is difficult to dress up defeats. Especially when they come against a side bottom of the league and your organisation is as big as Leeds Rhinos.

There's no getting away from the fact that this could be a damaging defeat for the Rhinos, who had an opportunity to move within a point of the play-offs but instead now risk being out of the picture given Wigan Warriors and Catalans Dragons are next up.

But if Leeds do miss out on the top six it shouldn't be this game that's looked back on as the defining moment. Leeds were without their first-choice fullback, two senior halfbacks, their star hooker and best centre. Throw in the absence of two regular front-rowers to the mix and Leeds were always up against it here. If you took those players out of any other team in Super League, they'd also come up short.

Read more: Leeds Rhinos player ratings as play-off hopes suffer setback in Toulouse

If anything, this loss only further emphasised how critically the club must fix up their injury and disciplinary issues that have become an all too familiar problem over the last 18 months. The Rhinos have had more suspensions than any other club this year and right up there for injuries too. When an issue persists for so long it becomes more than a matter of bad luck. There's always an element of misfortune given the nature of the sport but other factors are involved when the issue is sustained.

Disciplinary in particular can't be put down to rotten luck (though some may argue Leeds get a rough ride from Match Review Panel). But the truth is this; if Leeds continue to have too many of their senior players off the field too often, they won't progress. Recruitment is going to be