Leeds Knights well-equipped to handle 'great expectations' says Kieran Brown

The Knights come up against Swindon Wildcats in the first play-off semi-final at Coventry’s Skydome Arena today (1.30pm), the winner going through to Sunday’s final against either Telford Tigers or Peterborough Phantoms.

For the Knights, there is the weight of expectation, given they head to the West Midlands as reigning play-off champions and the regular season league champions.

But dealing with ‘great expectations’ is something the Knights have done well all season - for a second year running - giving Brown the confidence in his team to maintain that through one final weekend.

“Throughout this whole season, I think we’ve had to deal with expectations, so I think we just need to keep doing what we have been all year, what has made us successful,” said Brown. “It would be massive if we could win the play-offs again and pretty special to do it for a second year running.

“I remember the feeling when winning there last year - it was very special.”

If the Knights are to stand any chance of repeating last year’s heroics at all, Brown believes their defensive game will once again have to come to the fore.

During the course of the regular season, the Knights conceded the fewest goals by far - just 2.44 goals per game. It was a similar story in the play-off group stage.

“Defensively, it’s just been totally different this year,” added Brown. “Every year I’ve been here, we’ve always had good offence, always been able to score goals every game.

“But this year, we’ve really taken our defensive game up another level. We’ve really worked hard on it in practice.

“Ryan has often said having a strong defensive game wins championships and he’s right, it has this year.”