Leeds Rhinos news as captain Cameron Smith says Super League preparations well ahead of last pre-season

Unlike last pre-season, when it was a staggered return, most of Rhinos’ senior squad have been in training since early November. That included a warm weather training camp in Portugal before Christmas.

Rhinos kicked off their pre-season fixtures with a 41-22 victory over Wakefield Trinity on Boxing Day and the full squad were together, with almost everyone fit and training, in the first week of January.

Rhinos’ Betfred Super League campaign begins at home to Salford Red Devils in five weeks’ time and Smith said: “We’ve come in a lot earlier [than last year]. We had hardly anyone playing internationals so we’ve had [most of] the boys together from the first day of pre-season and we’ve had plenty of time to build on what we needed to do.”

Smith, Leeds’ reigning player of the year, will be at the head of a new-look side this term and is “excited” by what they could achieve. “It’s really good, really exciting,” he said of how preparations have gone so far.

“I think it was good for us to have a hit-out on Boxing Day and get some collision and get used to not just training at intensity all the time, because it is different to playing. I think that’s what we needed and I am really excited. We’ve got everybody here now and it’s all about getting a strong connection with the new boys and then we’ll go from there.”

Smith hailed recruits Lachie Miller, Paul Momirovski, Brodie Croft, Matt Frawley, Andy Ackers, Mickael Goudemand and Kieran Hudson as “really good” additions to the group.

“I have seen a lot of the boys who’ve played in Super League, but not too much footy of the guys who have come over from the NRL,” he said. “But as people, they are absolutely spot on. The conversations we are having upstairs [in meetings] and on the field are nothing I have been used to before, so that’s really exciting.

“There’s a lot of talent in the squad and the challenge is to be consistent and bring the best out of each other. That’s what all the chat is, but I don’t like looking too far ahead - I’ll just look to round one and go from there.”

Smith was ever-present last term until missing Rhinos’ final game, against his hometown club Castleford Tigers, with a minor injury. He confirmed: “It was nothing serious, I just had a severe dead hip that needed draining. I wanted to get it done sooner rather than later, so I’d be ready for week one of pre-season.”

This year will be Smith’s ninth in Rhinos’ first team squad and his first as captain, but the 25-year-old insisted that responsibility will make “no difference” to the way he plays. “I am honoured and privileged to have that C next to my name, but nothing changes for me in my personal game,” Smith stressed. “I will just keep doing my bit for the team and encourage other people to lead.”

Smith is the latest in a succession of captains since another number 13, Kevin Sinfield, hung up his rugby league boots at the end of 2015. Since then, Danny McGuire, Kallum Watkins, Trent Merrin, Stevie Ward, Luke Gale, Matt Prior and Kruise Leeming have all had a spell leading the team. Last year, coach Rohan Smith opted not to name a full-time skipper though his namesake took the role “unofficially”.

“I was just doing my role in the team, along with other leaders,” Cameron Smith said. “Now it’s official, I won’t look into it too much, I’ll just keep doing my bit. There’s a lot of media stuff and promos, but I’ve done all that sort of stuff before. I don’t mind it; it is part of the job, you can’t avoid it. Any chance you get to give back, I am there to do it.”