Leeds Rhinos talking points: No need to panic, Castleford Tigers derby is huge, Brodie Croft class act

The hosts are desperate to get off the mark in Betfred Super League, but a third successive defeat would be costly for Leeds and increase pressure on coach Rohan Smith from frustrated fans. Here’s five talking points.

1: Perspective.

Rhinos have a 50 per cent winning record after six competitive games this season, which over the course of a full league campaign would probably be enough to secure a place in the play-offs. Wins have come against Salford Red Devils (seventh last year), Catalans Dragons (second and Grand Final runners-up) and Leigh Leopards (fifth, Challenge Cup winners). They’ve lost away to Hull KR (fourth, Challenge Cup runners-up) and twice at home to St Helens (third and 2023 World Club champions), in the league and Challenge Cup.

That record is nothing to write home about, but no reason to panic either. The reality is, Wigan Warriors and Saints are clearly the two best teams at the moment, but - while the bottom three are lagging a bit - the rest are pretty much on a par. So far, Rhinos are doing about as well as could be expected, given where they finished last year and who they’ve played.

2: Time to get cracking.

That said, the next five games see Rhinos play the current bottom three - Castleford, Hull FC and London Broncos - plus leaders Warrington Wolves and eighth-placed Huddersfield Giants. It’s an opportunity to build some form and climb the table.

Five wins should be the target; anything less than four would be disappointing. Leeds will be expected to win this week, but it’s far from a gimmie. In similar circumstances, Rhinos slumped to an abject 14-8 defeat at the Jungle in round five last year and were undone by Castleford again at Magic Weekend.

Tigers will raise their game - if they played Rhinos every week they’d be title contenders - and the way Leeds handle the challenge will say a lot about their prospects for this season. With close to a fully-fit squad, they have no excuses.

3: What’s the plan?

An off-the-cuff style is good to watch and can be very effective when it works - as it did during a devastating spell in the second half at Leigh three weeks ago - but there has to be an alternative for if it doesn’t and so far it’s not clear what that is. But it was obvious from Rhinos’ off-season signings they are building a side that will go around teams, rather than through them.

Stand-off Brodie Croft is still fitting into a new way of playing, as are the entire spine, but he has been at the heart of most of the good things Rhinos have done this season and is undoubtedly a class act. He has made a good start and will only get better.,

They couldn’t maintain it, but Leeds had Saints rattled for half an hour of the recent league meeting. That was an illustration of what they are capable of and showed it can be effective, but they have to do it for longer, rather than in short bursts as has been the case so far this year.

4: Cup runs dry.

Leeds are the Challenge Cup’s second-most successful club in terms of trophy wins, with 14. Wigan sit way ahead on 20, largely because of their Wembley victories in a row from 1988-1995.

So falling at the first hurdle in four successive seasons is hugely disappointing for Rhinos, though they’ve had a tough draw each time. Speaking before last weekend’s tie, Rohan Smith admitted he would prefer to see Super League teams enter the competition earlier, giving them more chance of facing a lower division club - though the last time that happened, Rhinos lost at Bradford Bulls.

Clearly something needs to be done to revive an ailing competition. Last Friday’s attendance was less than half that of the week before, against the same opposition and eight of the last 10 four-figure gates at Headingley (excluding Covid-restricted matches) have been in the Challenge Cup.

5: Second-guessing.

Mickael Goudemand has played three different roles - second-row, prop and substitute - in his five games for Rhinos. He was unfortunate to be left out last week, when Smith opted to include a back, Luis Roberts, on the bench.

Smith is clearly keen to have Rhyse Martin, James Bentley and James McDonnell in his starting 13 if possible, but Morgan Gannon will also be back in the mix by mid-season and then Smith will potentially have five good players competing for two spots. If Rhinos can develop that sort of depth across the board, they’ll be in a strong position.