Leeds Rhinos boss set for recruitment meeting as signing deadline looms
Discussions will be held over strengthening Leeds Rhinos’ squad for the rest of the current campaign, coach Brad Arthur has revealed.
Clubs have until next Friday to bring players in for this season and the coach said recruitment will be discussed at a meeting with sporting director Ian Blease at the start of next week. Asked about the possibility of additions to boost Rhinos’ top-six hopes, Arthur said: “Ian spoke to me that we have got until next Friday.
“We are going to meet early next week - it was a short turnaround this week - and if there’s a possibility to strengthening the squad, the good thing about it is the club’s committed to it. But that will be more of a discussion for next week.”
Rhinos are two wins adrift of the play-offs going into this evening’s (Thursday) game at Huddersfield Giants, which is Arthur’s second as coach. He took charge with just 10 rounds remaining in the regular season and though he reckons the current players are good enough to overhaul at least one of the teams above them, he admitted it is an uphill battle.
“I think we can do it with the existing squad,” Arthur stated. “It is a big ask, we are four points adrift [before this weekend’s games] and you probably need a full pre-season to embed really good habits, but we don’t have that time so we’ve just got to make the most of it.”