Leeds Rhinos talking points after coach Rohan Smith's reign begins with Super League defeat at Salford Red Devils

Defeat at Salford, for the second time this season, left Rhinos third from bottom in Betfred Super League and just three points clear of the relegation zone.

That makes Friday’s derby at home to Wakefield Trinity, who are one place and a single point worse off, a huge game to mark Smith’s Headingley debut. Here’s five talking points.

1: Backwards step. Rohan Smith had 10 days to work with his players before the Salford game so, realistically, there was unlikely to be a huge change in the way they played, but some positive signs were expected. In fact, the performance regressed two months to the previous loss at Salford. The major concern was a stronger side played worse.

2: No instant fix. This is a long-term project for Smith, who signed a three-and-a-half-year contract, until the end of the 2025 season. He is effectively working with a previous coach’s squad and staff and it won’t be fair to judge him until after a full pre-season at the club.

3: Striking a balance. Smith says he is “not a table watcher” and performance is all-important, but every result matters, especially to a struggling team in a competition with relegation. Rhinos’ defeat, coupled with Toulouse’s win over Wakefield, has dragged them back into danger. The French side will win some home games, particularly in the mid-summer heat, so for the moment it doesn’t really matter how Rhinos do it, the priority has to be collecting enough points to secure Super League safety.

4: What went wrong? Rhinos’ discipline was good, but they made too many errors, in the first half their defence looked disorganised and heads dropped when Salford went in front. The effort was good, though.

5: Home comforts. The derby against Wakefield is Leeds’ last at Headingley until Wigan Warriors visit two months and a day later, on July 21. That’s five away games, plus Magic Weekend, so Rhinos need to make the most of Friday.