A year after he was appointed here's 5 ways Brad Arthur has made a difference to Leeds Rhinos

The 51-year-old Australian, who had been sacked by Parramatta Eels a couple of months earlier after a decade at the helm, was brought in to steady the ship and provide some experienced guidance after a disappointing run of results and performances under previous coach Rohan Smith. A month into his time at Leeds, he agreed to stay on for the 2025 season and, while it didn’t happen overnight, he has had a massive impact on the team’s fortunes.

Rhinos failed to reach the play-offs for a second successive season last year, but go into Friday’s visit of St Helens sitting third in Betfred Super League and on the back of a 14-8 win at leaders Hull KR. While Arthur’s future beyond this season remains in doubt, if he departs this autumn he will leave the team in much better shape. Here’s five ways things have changed under Arthur.

1: Results. Obviously that is what any coach is judged on. Rhinos won 32 of their 62 games under Smith, a success rate of 51.61 per cent. After winning five of Arthur’s 10 matches in charge last year, they’ve come out on top in 13 from 19 games in all competitions this term - 68.42 per cent.

Arthur’s overall winning percentage of 62.07 (18 from 29 games) makes him Leeds’ seventh most successful coach of the summer era. Excluding last year’s caretaker duo of Scott Grix and Chev Walker (two wins and one defeat) he has the best record since Leeds’ last Grand Final triumph eight years ago. The previous full-time coach to win more than 50 per cent of his games was four-time Grand Final champion Brian McDermott.

2: Performances. Leeds have had some poor teams over the last few years, but at times, they’ve been a good side, playing poorly. Arthur’s reign has seen some below-par displays, including at tomorrow’s opponents St Helens three weeks ago, but as a team and individuals, they’ve been much improved - as is reflected in results.

Arthur has got players he inherited performing better than they were previously, Lachie Miller and Sam Lisone being two notable examples. He has also managed to draw the best out of Jake Connor, a talented play-maker who some coaches have struggled to inspire in the past.

3: Style of rugby. Other than for part of the 2022 season under Smith, Rhinos haven’t been much fun to watch since their title triumph in 2017. There’s obviously various factors involved in that and results play a big part, but fans are now looking forward to matches again, rather than dreading the 80 minutes. Miller’s stunning winning try at Hull KR last week was an example of what Rhinos can do, but it’s not just that. Supporters like to see their team get stuck in and play with spirit, which Leeds have done over the past 12 months.

4: Defence. Despite the odd lapse, Rhinos are now a tough side to break down, averaging a shade less than 13 points conceded per game. Rather than waiting for the opposition to come to them, Leeds get into their faces and that means they aren’t spending long periods bogged down at their own end of the field. For the most part, Rhinos’ attack hasn’t cut loose yet - they’ve only passed 50 points once under Arthur - but that’s less of an issue when the other team struggles to score.

5: No nonsense. There was a lot of experimenting done under the previous regime, but Arthur hasn’t tried to force square pegs into round holes. Ash Handley’s move from wing to centre is an exception - which has worked - but generally players have been able to focus on their specialist role. There’s a clearer sense of purpose about the side, players seem to know exactly what’s expected of them and some innovative tactics have been ditched. Arthur is prepared to make tough decisions, for example leaving out his leading try scorer and there appears to be more accountability in the team. While they are both good blokes, Arthur is a tougher task master than his predecessor.