Leeds Rhinos talking points following the defeat at Salford Red Devils

A campaign which began amid so much optimism is approaching its quarter-way point with Rhinos third from bottom in Betfred Super League and having won only once in six matches.

Here are five talking points ahead of Saturday’s Betfred Challenge Cup tie against Castleford Tigers:

1: The current situation is unacceptable for a club of Rhinos’ stature. The eight-time Super League champions have been in a similar situation at this stage in five of the seven seasons since the 2015 treble-winning campaign. Changes have been made on the field and behind the scenes, but none has really worked.

2: Rhinos seemed to have recruited well in the off-season and, before a ball was kicked, nobody predicted they would be in crisis after six rounds. This isn’t a bad team, it’s a group of talented individuals, playing poorly.

3: Inevitably, the buck stops at the top. Once fans turn against a coach, the writing is on the wall because, ultimately, they pay the wages. Rhinos have a run of home games coming up and that will be a factor in the inevitable internal discussions about what the club do about their current plight.

4: The long-term plan, as the club have confirmed, has always been to move Richard Agar into another role with a new coach coming in. But unless they have somebody better lined up and available, a change now may just paper over the cracks.

5: Unfairly, Richie Myler got much of the blame when things went wrong in 2018 and 2019. Rhinos have looked all at sea since his groin injury in round one and his layoff has proved how pivotal he is to the team. That said, the players on duty in recent games should have been good enough to get the job done.

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