Leeds Rhinos face 'enormous test' as boss issues 'knuckle down' plea for must-win visit to Wigan Warriors
and on Freeview 262 or Freely 565
Rhinos face the toughest-possible finish to the Betfred Super League weekly rounds - with a trip to table-topping Wigan Warriors tomorrow (Friday) followed by a game at second-placed Hull KR seven days later - and could have to win both to sneak into the play-offs.
Leeds are seventh in the table, behind sixth-placed St Helens on for and against, a point adrift of Leigh Leopards and two behind Salford Red Devils, who are fourth. They travel to Wigan on the back of three successive victories, for the first time in more than a year, but Arthur - who took charge in July - accepts the next two matches are the biggest challenge so far.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide Ad“There’s a nice, warm feel about the place at the moment, but the very good teams knuckle down in moments like this,” Arthur said. “We know the result is important, but it’s more around how we play and the performance we get and making sure we are right in the contest and we push and we play for the full 80 minutes.


“There’s going to be good times in the game and how do we handle those? And there’s going to be moments in the game that are negative and how do we respond to that? It’s an enormous test for us to really see what we are made of.”
Rhinos have won five of Arthur’s eight matches as coach, including a 30-4 hammering of Wigan five weeks ago, but the reigning champions didn’t have Man of Steel Bevan French in their side that day and were backing up from a midweek fixture. “I feel like we are playing better than we were a month ago,” Arthur said.
“That is a positive sign for us, but we know that was their third game in a short period and they will have been a bit jaded from that. Our start in that game wasn’t fantastic; the intensity in our defence was really good, but we gave them some cheap possession and field position so we need to be better this week.”
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdArthur added: “We are playing a team that’s very physical, so we are going to have to be physical. Defence is going to be really important. There’s some things in our game we are doing well at the moment and if we keep doing that, it helps our defence.


“In four of our last seven games we’ve kept teams to six points or less. That’s on the back of some things we’ve done with our game management, which has allowed us to have the energy to do that.”
Four of the other five games in round 26 will have a bearing on Rhinos’ play-off hopes and position on the table. St Helens play host to Castleford Tigers and Leigh Leopards are at home against Hull KR on Friday; eighth-placed Catalans Dragons, who are two points behind Leeds, entertain London Broncos on Saturday and Salford visit Hull FC the following afternoon.
Leigh and Saints meet next week, so Leeds know victory in their last two games would secure a top-six finish. However, Arthur insisted it is pointless looking at the league ladder or what is happening elsewhere.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide Ad

“We know what the equation is,” he said. “We just need to be at our best every week. Our only focus is this week and being as disciplined and professional as we were last week and doing it against one of the best teams.
“We did it last week and the real key is not so much who we are playing, it is how we played last week and doing that week-in, week-out on a consistent level. We need to keep the mentality [the players] have got at the moment. There’s nothing wrong with their intent and their purpose about what they are trying to do.
“It is the same now as it was six weeks ago - there was an equation we had to reach to put ourselves in a position and we are fortunate enough now to control what we get out of the year. The first challenge was to make sure we got ourselves to that position where we were in control of it and not relying on other results and we are not now.
“But we don’t need to be adding any pressure to it. We have to be as good as we were last week and when you do that over and over, where you finish will take care of itself.”
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdThree Rhinos players are set to reach a milestone in tomorrow’s game, with Jarrod O'Connor and Matt Frawley both one appearance away from a career century. O'Connor made his first team debut in 2020 and has played 95 games for Rhinos, plus two for Featherstone Rovers on dual-registration in 2020 and a similar number during a loan spell with Bradford Bulls two years later.
Frawley has featured 24 times for Rhinos since joining them in pre-season. His career also includes 31 games with Canterbury Bulldogs (2017-2018), 22 for Canberra Raiders (2020-2023) and 22 for Huddersfield Giants (2019).
Wigan-born Andy Ackers is poised to make his 100th Super League appearance. His total so far includes 22 for Rhinos this season, 72 with Salford Red Devils (2020-2023) and five for Toronto Wolfpack in 2020.
Comment Guidelines
National World encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting. Please review our Community Guidelines before commenting.