New boss Brad Arthur has revealed one Leeds Rhinos player he is “looking forward” to coaching.

Arthur arrived from Australia last Thursday and is in the process of getting to know Rhinos’ squad ahead of Saturday’s home game against Hull KR. One who has already made a positive impression is England winger Ash Handley, Leeds’ top try scorer this year with 12 touchdowns in 15 games.

“The good thing about Ash is - I know he plays on the wing, but he has got a real good style of leadership about him,” Arthur said of Handley who made his debut in 2014 and is Leeds’ longest-serving player. “He was telling me a bit about himself, that he has been at Leeds for a long time, through his whole career and he just wants to win, which is great.

“He spoke really well in a meeting we had last Friday. Usually, wingers you don’t hear a lot from, so I am looking forward to coaching him.”

Ash Handley scores for Leeds Rhinos against London Broncos two weeks ago. Picture by Jonathan Gawthorpe.

placeholder image — Ash Handley scores for Leeds Rhinos against London Broncos two weeks ago. Picture by Jonathan Gawthorpe.

Arthur will name an initial 21-man squad for the Hull KR game at noon on Thursday. Handley appeared to pick up a knock towards the end of last week’s defeat away to Warrington Wolves, but the coach confirmed: “He trained [on Monday]. He’s just got a couple of things he has to manage.”