Leeds Rhinos coach makes 'scrap and scramble' vow, stresses 'belief' before clash v Warrington Wolves

Despite last week’s 54-0 win over Huddersfield Giants, Rhinos remain four points behind sixth-placed St Helens, who have a game in hand, with 11 rounds left in Betfred Super League.

But it was around this time last year when Leeds began the surge which lifted them to a fight-place finish and an eventual Grand Final appearance .

They lost only two of their last 11 fixtures in the 2022 regular season and it could take a similar run to secure a play-off spot this time.

Rhinos looked a long way short of being a play-off side when they suffered successive defeats to the bottom two of Castleford Tigers and Wakefield Trinity, but the win over Huddersfield was a huge improvement and Smith insisted: “I have got a lot of belief in this group and that hasn’t changed at any point this season.”

Looking ahead to Thursday’s game at second-placed Warrington Wolves, the coach said: “It’s a matter of us collectively finding that good level of performance in back to back weeks.

“In some of those games last year we didn’t actually play that well, I didn’t think, but we found a way, so there has to be that element of scrapping and scrambling and doing whatever it takes to get a result.

“But ideally we are chasing that performance and I think there’s a lot of talent and belief in the group, possibly even more so than last year.”

The win over Giants ended a four-match losing streak in all competitions and was only their second victory in eight matches.

Assessing Leeds’ chances of repeating last year’s charge into the top-six, Smith stressed: “I haven’t done the maths.

“There’s been so many so-called upsets this year, I am not going to ride the highs and lows of other people’s results or look at the ladder.

“It is one game at a time, it has to be. That’s always my mentality and nothing has changed there, but it is important we get another one this weekend.”

Rhinos have won back-to-back fixtures only twice this year and a lack of consistency has been their biggest failing.

The coach doesn’t accept they have always followed a good performance with a poor one, but admits now is the time to start stringing a run of victories together.

“There were a few games where I felt we did perform at a good level, but didn’t get the result,” he said.

“In the end all people are looking for is the W, whether it’s a good performance or not. That’s certainly the stage of the season we’re at, but we know if we perform well we are very, very difficult to beat. That’s our opportunity, to find that good performance and see if it’s good enough.”

As well as its implication for the league table, Thursday is a chance for Rhinos to show they are a better team than the one crushed 42-10 at Warrington in round one, four months ago.

There was a gulf between the teams that evening and Smith reflected: “That was a long time ago, there’s a lot of water under the bridge from there.

“We have been through a lot, but adversity can shape you and change you and bring about a shift.

“There was a big performance last Friday, we got some real belief out of that and pulled through reasonably well with injuries so we are looking to repeat a strong performance and see if that’s good enough to beat a team that’s at the top of the table.”

Warrington were Super League’s early pace setters, winning their first eight games. Their form has dipped since then, with six defeats from their last 10 games in all league and cup.

“That’s the nature of the competition,” Smith observed. “Form doesn’t count, we are under no illusions - Warrington will be looking to get some consistency and find some rhythm.

“They’ve been there or thereabouts in lots of the games they’ve played. The results don’t necessarily indicate what a threat they are. They have got a very good squad and some real belief in their system so we are going to have to be good.”