How 'kick up the backside' from Leeds Rhinos boss Brad Arthur has given Harry Newman a boost

Newman was among Rhinos’ try scorers in last Thursday’s 34-6 win at his hometown club Huddersfield Giants, which was their first victory under Arthur and kept alive hopes of a top-six finish in Betfred Super League.

Australian Arthur spent 10 years in charge of Parramatta Eels in the NRL and has already made an impact on Leeds, according to Newman, who admitted he has been given a personal “kick up the backside”. The number three said: “Defensively I think we are showing a bit about us.

“We are going after teams and being aggressive, we were much better defensively [last Thursday]. The week before, we probably lost that game ourselves with our own errors when we were well in it against Hull KR, who are a top-three side.

“[At Huddersfield] there were some things to fix up with the ball again, we were a bit scrappy at times, but to go away from home and turn up like that shows character. We know we’ve got it in us, we’ve got to do it week on week. Now we’ll build up to a tough game against Salford which we have to win.”

Rhinos remain seventh in the table, but are now just two points behind St Helens who have slipped to sixth following five successive defeats. Salford and Catalans Dragons are four points ahead of Leeds.

“We knew we had to win [against Giants],” Newman added. “If we didn’t, we’d probably have given ourselves too much to do. It’ll be the same again on Saturday and then we play three of the top six teams in the league.

“It’ll be tough, but if we keep playing like that and turning up with that attitude and learning off Brad - who has been excellent - we will give yourselves every chance. But we go again and we start again on Monday.”

Arthur is two games into what could be only a 10-match spell with Rhinos. He signed a short-term contract until the end of the current campaign, but a longer deal has not been ruled out. Of how Arthur is implementing his ideas, Newman said: “Obviously he can’t change much during the season, but what he can do is hold people accountable for doing their job properly. That’s what he has done.

“He has been very motivational, he’s keeping it simple, but aggressive. We’ve got to get better and better each week at the things he wants us to do, but [last Thursday] was a massive step in the right direction.”

Leeds were criticised by fans and pundits for their so-called ‘passive’ style of defence under previous coach Rohan Smith. Arthur has encouraged them to get off their line and “go after the collisions” and Newman said: “We’ve talked about having that straight line both sides of the ruck.

“There’s times when you’re fatigued and not quite there, but we are learning every week and getting fitter with these new systems every week. There’s eight games to go now and we are two points off the play-offs so we’ve got to have confidence.

“We’ve been here before, we know what it takes as a team. It is exciting, it is an opportunity and we are looking forward to the next challenge [this] week.”

On a personal note, Newman is “feeling good” about his own game. He revealed: “I feel like Brad has given me a kick up the backside. Against Hull KR I ran my best metres of the year and it was another solid performance on Thursday. I have got to keep building on that.

“I have still got a bit of a sore foot, but whenever I pull that Leeds jersey on I want to give my best. I think people know that, they know I am a passionate player. Sometimes I’ve got to rein it back, but Brad has given me the confidence within myself to go out there and carry the ball, be destructive and that’s what I am trying to do for this team.”