Leeds Rhinos' Cameron Smith reveals 'pride' at record despite injury niggles, hails unsung heroes

Smith has played in all Rhinos’ 18 competitive matches in 2023, a record only hooker Jarrod O’Connor and centre/second-row Rhyse Martin can match.

“I am proud of that, I want to be involved in every game,” Smith - who made his debut in 2016 - said.

“I have played a lot of minutes as well and I am grateful to be out there for as long as I can and to be in the team every week.”

There were fears Smith’s run could end last week, with the number 13 being a doubt for Thursday’s 22-6 win at Warrington Wolves after suffering a bang to a knee in the 54-0 thrashing of Huddersfield Giants six days earlier.

“I am carrying niggles everywhere at the minute, but I got through okay,” Smith confirmed.

“I was always confident I was going to play, it’s just about managing me. In the Huddersfield game I got a bit of a knock and it was a good chance to rest it up and get it right, so I’m not missing out on games.

“We’ve got a long turnaround this week, so we’ll get a couple of days’ rest then be back to it.”

Leeds return to action on Sunday when they visit Salford Red Devils. That is a crunch fixture, with the hosts sitting sixth in the table, four points and two places clear of Rhinos who will make the trip in confident mood.

“It was a really good win, especially after the one the week before,” Smith said of the victory at Warrington.

“We started the game really well, again and I thought across the board we played well. There were some stand-out performers, but I thought as a team we looked where we should be.”

Rhinos’ past two results - only the third time they have achieved back to back wins this season - have kept them in the hunt for a top-six finish.

Leeds won nine of their final 11 games last year to snatch fifth place on the table, but Smith insisted: “It’s important we only focus on the game each week and not think about last week or next week.

“The last two wins have been important, but they are done now and it’s on to the next one. I don’t think there is an easy game this year.

“We’ve had a lot of tough games, they’ve really gone down to the wire sometimes and other times we’ve put scores on teams. We have to be on our A-game every week.”

The victories over Huddersfield and Wakefield were built on a fast start and some clinical finishing, backed up by solid defence which conceded just one try in 160 minutes.

“That’s what we spoke about,” Smith said of Rhinos’ desire to protect their goal line. “Everybody knows what we can do with the ball, but sometimes we have been questioned defensively.

“We spoke about setting some standards and attacking teams with our defence. I feel like we’ve done that the last two weeks and it has shown.

“It [six points conceded] is a good effort and it comes down to what you do with the ball. You can only defend as well as you kick-chase and put teams into an uncomfortable position. Credit to our spine for that and I feel like we have really kicked it up a notch.”

Rhinos will be without in-form stand-off Blake Austin for Sunday’s game, when he serves a one-match ban.

The combination of full-back Richie Myler, halves Austin and Aidan Sezer, hooker Jarrod O’Connor and Smith at 13 was instrumental in the past two victories.

“The spine has gone really well,” Smith said. “We’ve talked about being really direct and causing teams trouble when we run the ball, instead of trying to pass round teams. When we find that balance we are a very difficult team to play against.”

Smith also feels strong carries from Rhinos’ three-quarters are getting the side on the front foot.

He said: “It helps when you’ve got the back-field we’ve got, bringing the ball back. When I am coming back on a kick-chase and I can see David Fusitu’a, Ash Handley, Nene Macdonald, Rhyse Martin all coming on to the ball full tilt, our job’s nearly done then - we get the ball in good field position.”