Brian McDermott admits his Harlequins RL side must play a lot smarter if they are to overcome their inconsistent form.

The Londoners missed the chance to strengthen their play-off credentials when they fell to a disappointing 32-12 home defeat to Hull KR at the weekend, having lost the influential Danny Orr at half-time.

And McDermott lambasted the decision-making from his side.

He said: “Obviously Danny is a big factor for us, and when he isn’t there it leaves a big hole.

“But we have talked about this a lot, and the players know that when he is not on the pitch they have to play a lot smarter and do the basics.

“For some reason the players started trying to throw miracle passes at the start of the second half, and it cost us big time.

“The players have to learn, and games like that are part of that learning curve.”

Matt Gardener and Chad Robinson crashed over to give Quins a deserved half-time lead, but the visitors rattled up 24 unanswered points after the break to claim victory.

And McDermott reckoned the effort of three games in ten days had taken its toll.

He added: “I don’t like making excuses, and I’m not having a go at the fixtures, but three games in that time does make things difficult.

“I had a lot of players out there that were very tired, and when you are tired you fall off tackles, and that can often lead to injuries.”

Those injuries came in the shape of Orr and Daniel Heckenberg, who once again injured his shoulder.

Things get no easier for Quins with a Friday trip to Leeds, but McDermott insists he remains happy with what he has seen so far this campaign.

He added: “Overall the results have been inconsistent, but I don’t think the performances have been.

“I still think we are looking good defensively, and are not far away from where we want to be.”

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