Kevin Sinfield rued the loss of Ava Seumanufagai and Mikolaj Oledzki after Leeds Rhinos suffered a season-ending defeat to Catalans Dragons in the Super League play-offs.
Seumanufagai suffered a head knock in the first tackle of the game at the Halliwell Jones Stadium and Oledzki was forced off with a similar issue late in the first half.
The loss of their two biggest men put paid to Leeds' chances of fighting back after a sluggish start.
“It changed the game and made it really tough,” director of rugby Sinfield told Sky Sports.
“I can’t fault any effort, they had a real go. But losing Ava and Mik really hurt us, especially against a big Catalans side. They’re two big men.
“Like I said, I can’t fault our effort. I’m really proud of what the club have done this year.
“I know it’s been a challenge for everybody. I’m just disappointed to lose tonight.”
The Sam Tomkins-inspired Dragons were 18-0 up after half an hour but Leeds gave themselves hope thanks to tries from Alex Sutcliffe and Liam Sutcliffe either side of the break.
David Mead scored a crucial fourth try for the Dragons after an error by Robert Lui, meaning Konrad Hurrell’s late effort was nothing more than a consolation in a 26-14 defeat for the Rhinos.
Sinfield felt the damage was done early on.
“It hurt us,” he said. “In play-off rugby you can’t give yourself an 18-0 mountain to climb.
“Our effort was outstanding but at crucial times we gave too much ball away and Catalans made us pay.”
The loss brings the curtain down on a season that began way back on February 2.
It has been a hugely challenging year for the Rhinos, with head coach Richard Agar missing the play-off eliminator due to Covid-19 protocols.
But there were real highs along the way as well, namely the run to the Challenge Cup final and the victory over Salford Red Devils at Wembley.
Sinfield believes Leeds are heading in the right direction and will be better for this year.
“We’re improving, we’re growing,” he added. “It was never going to be an overnight fix.
“We’ve made some massive strides already. Some of the combinations we’ve got within the squad are outstanding and we’ve got some really good young players.
“We’ll look forward to next year.”
