HULL KR coach Craig Sandercock admitted it was one game too far for his young side as they were beaten 44-10 by Leeds yesterday.
The Robins, who went into the game having won six of their last nine matches, again fielded a relatively young and inexperienced side against the defending champions.
And despite going toe-to-toe with them for half-an-hour, Rovers fell away to see the Rhinos run away with the contest in the final 50 minutes.
Leeds out-scored the Robins by eight tries to two, and Sandercock admitted his young side had run out of steam.
"Our boys have played some very good sides lately, and on a young side, that takes its toll," he said.
"If you're a seasoned first-team player, it probably doesn't affect you, but last week was a physical battle and we had a lot of walking wounded."
Despite the loss, Sandercock was proud of his side's effort and said the final scoreline did not do justice to their performance.
"The score didn't reflect how hard we played and how competitive we were, but that's rugby league," he said.
"The first 20 minutes was a real arm wrestle and a couple of things that could have gone our way didn't. Unfortunately we weren't good enough to defend it.
"Leeds have some class players and they can hurt you at any time of the game.
"We are disappointed because we came into this game thinking we could win.
"When things go against us and we are under the pump, we need to react a little better.
"If we can do that, then hopefully we can get through the other side."
