Leeds Rhinos' Ash Handley hails new centre partner, looks forward to 'tough' Hull KR clash

Handley was named in Betfred Super League’s team of the week after his brace of touchdowns in last Friday’s round one win over Salford Red Devils, which was the first time he and centre Paul Momirovski had played together. Handley had spells at centre and full-back last year and played alongside Rhyse Martin, Luis Roberts, Nene Macdonald and Harry Newman at times when he was in his specialist role on the left-wing.

Barring injuries, Momirovski - who was signed from Sydney Roosters and won an NRL Grand Final with Penrith Panthers in 2021 - will be Handley’s right-hand man throughout 2024 and Leeds’ longest-serving player believes it is a partnership with potential.

“It was comfy,” Handley said of playing alongside Momirovski last week. “He is a good player, he knows his stuff. He has got a lot of experience in the NRL and hopefully we can build a connection. It was very disjointed last year, there weren’t many partnerships that stuck around for long so hopefully we can build a partnership going forward this year.”

Handley’s touchdowns last week included a spectacular long-range score which is already being talked about as a potential try of the season contender. He said: “After working so hard in pre-season you want to help the team as much as you can, so it was good. I enjoyed it and I just want to keep doing it as much as I can.”

That was largely a solo effort, but Handley, who crossed 11 times last year, could get plenty more opportunities with former Man of Steel Brodie Croft and ex-Canberra Raiders scrum-half Matt Frawley now calling the shots for Leeds. “Potentially, but I like to think tries can come from anywhere,” Handley noted.

“I’ve scored some tries in the middle of the field when everyone thought I shouldn’t be there. I just try to pop up where I can and help the team as much as I can.”

Leeds trailed three times against Salford, but hit back each time and Handley feels that will give them confidence for this week’s meeting with a team who beat them twice last term.

“It was a good win, we ground out a tough game,” he reflected. “Salford are a good team so we did well to stay in it and to stay in the grind with them. I really enjoyed it and it’s good to get a win in the first round.”

Rhinos’ composure each time they went behind was one of the most impressive aspects of last week’s performance. The winger added: “We weren’t really focussing too much on the scoreboard, we were focussing on what we can control. We knew we always had a chance to come back and we did that three times so it was good.”

It was a similar story in the pre-season wins over Wakefield Trinity and Hull KR, when Leeds overcame a half-time deficit. “I think it has just turned out that way,” Handley said of the second half fightbacks. “There were a few early errors from us that gave them good field position, but we just have to stick with it, not focus on the outcome and just stick with the process.

“We were very calm, I don’t think anyone was panicking at all throughout the game. We just stuck with it and it showed in the end when we came out on top. It was good character from the group.”

It is six years since Rhinos last won their opening two Super League fixtures, so a victory in East Yorkshire would be a statement of intent. Handley stressed: “We haven’t started seasons very well in the past so it was nice to get the win, but we just move on to this week now. That win means nothing if we lose this week so we need to focus on having a good performance on Thursday. It is week by week now, it has come around fast, but we are looking forward to it

“They [Hull KR] are a great side, but we’re trying to build on last week and going there looking to get the win. We’re looking forward to going up against them, you want to be going up against the better teams and challenging yourselves.”