Coach Brad Arthur says Leeds Rhinos’ resurgence has been a team effort, on and off the field.

Whatever happens against Wigan Warriors on Saturday, Rhinos will go into the final round of the regular season with a chance of finishing top of Betfred Super League for the first time since their treble-winning 2015 campaign. Though they were second - and Grand Final winners - two years later, the club have been in the doldrums for much of the past decade, including successive eighth-placed seasons in 2023 and 2024.

After ending last year in fourth position, Leeds have been in or around top spot since Easter and Arthur accepts they have come a long way since he took charge 26 months ago, But he stressed it has taken a lot of toil, not just by players and coaches.

Leeds Rhinos coach Brad Arthur. Picture by Matthew Merrick/SWpix.com.

“It is good, it is a lot of progress,” the team boss said. “There’s a lot of work and effort gone into it from a lot of people. It is a whole-club approach, everyone plays their role and you need everyone to play their role to get to this stage.

“You need to have a good playing squad and a playing squad that buys in. Every time I’ve been asked about it I’ve said that one of the contributing factors in me wanting to stay here was I felt I could help and make a difference, because there were people - in particular the players and staff - who wanted a point or difference and wanted to buy in and get on board with it.

“Their accountability and raising the bar around expectations has been really good. We are fortunate we are sitting here with an opportunity to be league leaders. You need a bit of luck along the way; people can say we’ve had it and we have, but you create your own luck. It was a great place when I got here and it’s still a great place.”

Saturday’s top-two showdown is now sold out with a capacity crowd of 19,698 expected for the Sky Sports-televised 8pm kick-off. That will be the biggest to watch Super League at AMT Headingley since 2020 when the campaign opened with a double-header featuring Castleford Tigers against Toronto Wolfpack and Leeds versus Hull FC.

Leeds Rhinos fans have given their team "tremendous" support this season, coach Brad Arthur says. Picture by Steve Riding.

It is Leeds’ third full house in five games, following the away matches at Wakefield Trinity and York Knights and Arthur insisted fans have played a significant part in Rhinos getting to their current position. “They have been tremendous with their support for us throughout the year,” he stated.

“There was a good travelling party last weekend at Saints and I remember the Wakefield game, I am sure they played a role in getting us home in that second half. They have been tremendous for us at home and we have learned how to play accordingly at home, to get the fans involved.

“It can certainly help, we are grateful and we want to show our appreciation. It is hard to guarantee results, but what we do guarantee for them is there’s a style of footy and a certain way we play at home and hopefully they really believe we are reliable at home.”