Leeds Rhinos' Mikolaj Oledzki 'over the moon' with coach decision, talks injury layoff & tough season finale
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Oledzki has also provided the lowdown on his recent injury layoff and issued a defiant message ahead of Rhinos’ tough finale to the regular Betfred Super League season which sees them visit the top two of Wigan Warriors and Hull KR.
Arthur took over as Leeds coach, initially on a short-term deal, two months ago and has a record of five wins and three defeats so far. Oledzki is already a big fan of the former Parramatta Eels boss and excited he has agreed to stay at the club in 2025.
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Hide Ad“He has been great, he is great to have around,” he said. “He is a competitor, he wants to improve everyone as players and as a team.


“He is very honest, he holds everyone accountable for the benefit of the team and he wants the lads to play the best they can and get the best out of them. All the boys are over the moon he is staying for next year because we’ve loved having him around for the last few weeks.”
Arthur has already promised his players a long, hard pre-season, but Oledzki stressed: “Brad knows what it takes to be in the play-offs and to be competing for trophies. It is going to be a tough pre-season, that’s what we are all expecting, but I think our boys know the fruits you get out of that later in the year. The boys will be excited to rip in, but for now we’ve got two games and whatever comes after that so at the moment the focus is on that.”
Rhinos climbed one place to seventh in Betfred Super League following last Friday’s 68-6 win over Hull. They are level on points with sixth-placed St Helens, one behind Leigh Leopards and only two adrift of Salford Red Devils, who are fourth.
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Hide AdThey might need to win both their remaining fixtures to secure a spot in the play-offs and Oledzki insisted “We are after two wins, that is the only option for us and it’s what we are working for. It is a massive two weeks for us and two wins is our only focus.”


Leeds are on a three-match winning run - something they hadn’t done in more than a year - and confidence is rising. Oledzki said: “We needed to use each week as a stepping stone in the right direction and I feel like we’ve done that.
“After the London game, a massive thing for us was getting the mindset right to play Hull FC. The boys got things fixed up from the week before and it was a full 80-minute performance, very professional. It could have got a bit messy, but it was a good performance to build off going into this week.”
Wigan could secure the league leaders’ shield on Friday if they win and Hull KR lose at in-form Leigh, but Rhinos have a good recent record at Brick Community Stadium and beat the defending champions 30-4 in the home fixture a month ago. “Brad won’t be looking at any of that,” Oledzki predicted.
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“It is a nice stat to have, but he won’t be interested in that, he’ll just be wanting us to get our attitude right, rip in this week at training and really get our minds set on a massive performance. That’s the big focus for us, to go there with the right attitude and really stay in the grind and come up with a good performance and a good result.”
Oledzki spent four games on the casualty list with damaged ribs, but returned in last Friday’s huge victory. He confirmed he came through that “absolutely fine, no problems at all” and is now looking forward to boosting Leeds’ bid to secure a top-six finish.
“It has been frustrating, watching the boys play,” he admitted of his spell on the sidelines. “They have been playing well and you just want to be out there and do anything you can to help, but I am back now and what’s been has been. I am ready to rip in for the next few weeks.”
Oledzki came straight back into the starting lineup, playing one 27-minute spell before being rested for the remainder of the match. That was a precaution and he expects to be available for Friday’s trip to Wigan.
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Hide Ad“Because of the nature of the injury, I’ve not been able to do much,” he reported. “It was one of those where you have to let the ribs heal and make sure they are solid before you can do anything, so there’s no movement.
“It was pretty much a case of going from not being able to do anything straight into playing, but I am happy to get that one under my belt. We have two massive games coming up and I wanted to get one under my belt before these two.”
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