Leeds Rhinos player focus - spotlight on Adam Cuthbertson

Today the Yorkshire Evening Post turns the spotlight on veteran Australian forward Adam Cuthbertson as we examine the state of Rhinos’ squad following the long Covid-19 layoff.

Cuthbertson joined Rhinos from Newcastle Knights ahead of the 2015 season and was a treble-winner and man of Steel nominee in his debut campaign.

Attributes:

On his day Cuthbertson is the best offloader in Super League, as he proved in 2015 when he got the ball away out of a tackle a record 125 times.

Leeds averaged 19.1 offloads per game that year, more than six ahead of their nearest rivals on that statistic, Catalans Dragons.

He has not quite matched that in recent years, but has been in the top-four in each of his five full seasons at Leeds.

When allowed to operate as a ball-handler, he has found a new lease of life since Richard Agar took over as coach and was in good form before the coronavirus shutdown.

He has an astute rugby brain, as his success coaching Rhinos’ women proved and is one of the squad’s spokesmen off the field.

Defining moment:

Cuthbertson won his first medal with Leeds in the Challenge Cup final demolition of Hull KR five years ago.

Best season:

The 2015 treble-winning campaign saw Cuthbertson at his peak, but he also had a very good season in 2017.

That year he scored 13 tries, again topped Super League’s offloading chart, with 121, was the competition’s third-highest metre-maker (3,446) and a major contributor to Dream Team hooker Matt Parcell’s 19 touchdowns in all matches.

Concerns:

At 35 Cuthbertson is the oldest player in Leeds’ squad and is out of contract at the end of this year.

He found the going tough during Leeds’ three seasons in the bottom-four, when he was forced into a less creative role as an out-and-out front-rower.

Value:

Ever-present off the bench so far this year, Cuthbertson has proved he can still contribute, though neither he nor the club have confirmed if he will be staying on in 2021. He could have a future at the club after playing, either in the coaching department or making use of the Masters in sports directorship he is studying for at Salford University

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