'Got to be good' Leeds Rhinos boss Rohan Smith reveals what it'll take to win at St Helens

Rhinos rarely looked like scoring in their 26-0 defeat at Catalans Dragons last time out, but will have more firepower on show against Saints with centre Harry Newman, stand-off Brodie Croft and on-loan winger Matty Russell all expected to feature. Smith accepts a big improvement is needed on the performance in France, but insists his side can grab a win in front of the Sky TV cameras to turn their faltering season around.

“We’ve got a different lineup to start with,” Smith stated. “We’ve got a few key players back which certainly makes a difference. We have got to play better for longer, that’s the thing.

“We battled hard at Catalans, but didn’t have enough clinical finish to our sets and we let ourselves down at the back end of the game which meant the score blew out a bit. Everyone’s still hurting from that. We have got to start again and play a good, hard, smart, skillful game of footy to test a team that don’t get beaten at home very often.”

Both sides have had a two-week break since their last match and Smith stressed: “It has been good, the players had a few days off to refresh and recharge a bit, but we got some great sessions in at the back end of last week and over the weekend.

“We have trained hard and we have trained well. It is a really important phase in this middle part of the season. We have been in there competing in every match, but it is important we turn being in the battle into being in the winner’s circle more often. That’s the next phase for us and it’s a super-challenging test for us this weekend.”

Rhinos have won just one of their last 17 meetings with Saints and were beaten 18-8 and 20-6 in successive league and cup games at AMT Headingley two months ago. Smith said: “We’ve had a couple of really good, hard battles.

“That first match was among the best Super League games I’ve seen this year. It was a really high standard of game I thought, high intensity and we played some good stuff that night. It feels like not that long ago when we played them so there’s a level of familiarity, I am sure, for both teams, but it’s a new battle as well.

“We’ve had a bunch of great contests with St Helens over the last couple of years that have gone right down to the wire so it’s a matter of getting started again and really going there and attacking the game. We know what they give so we have got to go there and give it and some more.”

Smith feels Saints are “a little bit different in some things they are doing” this year, but noted: “Overall the glue of their team has been together for a long period of time. There’s been consistent characters or coaching staff or senior players who have been there for a long time and a lot of their key players have played at one club.

“That makes a difference to how things are done. Even a lot of their imports have been there for a few years so they have a level of rhythm and cohesion and they drive their standards really high and compete well.

“They’ve got a high level of skill as well as a high level of experience and athletic ability so they are a benchmark, among a couple of other teams in the competition. You have got to be good to beat St Helens.”