Leeds Rhinos talking points: team of 2 halves, prop puzzle, big chance, Super Mac, captain condundrum

For the second successive home fixture, Rhinos staged an outstanding - and unlikely - second-half comeback to stun Huddersfield Giants in an Easter thriller.

Having gone 12-0 down, they turned on the style to run in four tries and could have won by a wider margin than 18-17 but for some unusually wayward goal kicking by Rhyse Martin.

Here’s five talking points,

1: Leeds have led at half-time in only one of their eight games this year. That was in the defeat at Castleford Tigers, when they were nilled in the second-half.

Rhinos were outscored 12-10 in the second-half of the opening 42-10 loss at Warrington Wolves, drew the final 40 against Hull and have had the better of things after the interval in their other five matches.

Leeds have opened the scoring only twice, at St Helens and against Wakefield Trinity the following week, which followed a scoreless first-half.

It is encouraging they are finishing games strongly and a credit to their fitness and the work done by the strength and conditioning staff.

But also frustrating, because if Leeds played like they do in the second-half earlier in every game they’d be much higher up the table.

There have been glimpses of what a good team Rhinos could be, but they need to find some consistency, both from week to week and within matches.

2: Friday’s visit of Hull FC is a big game for Rhinos. Bizarrely, considering there’s three teams Leeds haven’t played yet, it is a repeat of round two, when Rhinos lost 22-18 in a match they should have won.

Hull have lost all six games since then, culminating in a 40-0 home drubbing by Hull KR which left them second from bottom in the table.

There will surely be a response from them this week and they have had two days extra to prepare following coach Tony Smith’s decision to cancel Easter.

Leeds are in a pattern of good one week, dire the next and if they are going to achieve anything this term, they need to break that and get on a winning run. With Hull, Leigh Leopards and Salford Red Devils up next, it’s an ideal chance.

Rhinos wasted similar opportunities by losing at Castleford and Hull KR and they need to be better this weekend.

3: Rhinos have gone from no props at times last year, to having too many to fit into the 17. In stark contrast to recent seasons, all Rhinos’ front-rowers are fit and available, which has meant some big calls for Smith.

James Donaldson has not played since the win at St Helens in round three and Sam Walters was left out of three of the last four games. Both players, who are out of contract at the end of this season, were dual-registered with Bradford Bulls for their Easter Monday fixture against Halifax.

Having close to a fully-fit squad is a welcome change, but it’s difficult to keep players who aren’t featuring happy.

With Zane Tetevano also in the final year of his deal, some big decisions will have to be made soon, particularly as - from next month - clubs can approach players who are coming out of contract elsewhere.

4: The signing of Nene Macdonald from Leigh Centurions was greeted with scepticism by some Rhinos fans, particularly with Rhinos losing long-serving duo Tom Briscoe and Liam Sutcliffe and the hugely influential Zak Hardaker.

The Papua New Guinea international hadn’t played at the top level since his final season in the NRL with Cronulla Sharks three years ago.

But Smith knows him well from their time at Queensland Cup side Norths Devils and, on the evidence so far, it was good business.

Macdonald’s past two performances, while he has been fasting for Ramadan, have been remarkable under the circumstances.

Against Huddersfield, he was Rhinos’ top performer for carries (25), metres (206) and tackle busts (five).

5: At times, for example in the first-half against Giants, Rhinos have looked disorganised.

It is debatable how influential a captain is in rugby league and Leeds do have leaders in their team, but they lack a figurehead.

Captaincy is more than a role on the field, it’s a focal point of the club, for fans and media. Rhinos’ captains have been ill-fated since Kevin Sinfield’s long stint ended in 2015, but the club and team would be better off with one.