Peter Smith’s Inside Rugby League: Not much for Leeds Rhinos to celebrate but a fair bit to look forward to

Eighth place in Betfred Super League is hugely disappointing for a club of Rhinos’ size, prestige, history and resources but, for much of the year, there was a real danger they would be playing in the Championship next year, so it could have been worse.

After 14 rounds, when coach Dave Furner was sacked just six months into a three-year contract, Leeds had only eight points on the board and were third from bottom, two points outside the relegation zone.

Eight wins from their final 15 games kept them up and Rhinos managed to avoid being caught in the four-way fight to avoid the drop in round 29.

Leeds were averaging 26.7 points conceded per game under Furner. With Agar as coach, the average was 17.9. On attack, Leeds averaged 22 points per game scored under both Furner and Agar, so it’s clear where the improvement lay.

Last week’s win over Warrington Wolves was an indication Rhinos, who were bottom of the table as late as the end of June, are heading in the right direction, but there is still a long way to go before they are challenging regularly for honours again.

Rhinos didn’t win three successive games all season and the last time they managed that against Super League opposition was at the end of 2017.

Other than St Helens, no side found any real consistency this year, but Leeds will need to string more than a couple of victories together to reach the semi-finals in 2020.

Encouragingly, there has been a better spirit and attitude under Agar. His first match as boss was the embarrassing Coral Challenge Cup defeat at Bradford Bulls, probably Leeds’ lowest point of the summer era. In that game, teenage stand-off Callum McLelland marked his full debut with an early try. It was a big moment for a young player, but few of his team-mates showed much enthusiasm.

That was something highlighted quickly in team meetings and it has been noticeable over the past four months how exuberantly Rhinos have celebrated after scoring or forcing an error from the opposition.

Leeds’ 2019 squad may not have been title-winning quality but, in terms of ability, they should have been higher up the table. Something was clearly missing. Effort is certainly no longer in question, though it clearly has to be better directed. That said, if Rhinos are going to challenge for honours they will need to improve their squad.

Recent recruitment has, rightly, been criticised but marquee signings Konrad Hurrell and Trent Merrin each made a positive impact, as did unsung forward James Donaldson.

Shaun Lunt got only limited game time on his return to Leeds but fellow mid-season signings, Ava Seumanufagai and Rhyse Martin, were excellent, and Robert Lui showed against Warrington what he is capable of.

What is required is more players of that standard, rather than the projects or second-tier recruits of recent years.

That is an on-going process, but there’s more involved than identifying a target then going and getting him.

The retirement of Jamie Jones-Buchanan and Carl Ablett creates some space in the squad, but Leeds’ overseas quota is full so, if they are going to recruit from abroad, at least one of their current foreign contingent will have to move on. Rhinos’ squad doesn’t require as much work now as it did a year ago and, unlike in the previous pre-season, they won’t be starting from scratch under an incoming coach. Agar’s systems work and – with some highly promising youngsters having had a taste of action this year – the priority has to be quality rather than quantity.

With a couple of key additions – they are looking for a half-back and powerful forward – Leeds should do much better in 2020, though that was what was expected 12 months ago.

One thing is certain, though. Leeds can’t afford another relegation battle. If Toronto Wolfpack are promoted, they will have more chance of staying up than London Broncos did.

The remarkable patience shown by Rhinos’ fans won’t last forever - and neither will their luck.