Leeds Rhinos youngster Jarrod O'Connor looking to build on promising Super League start

O’Connor, who will turn 20 next month, made his debut as part of a young side which lost to Catalans Dragons at Emerald Headingley in September, the week before Leeds’ Coral Challenge Cup semi-final against Wigan Warriors.

He also featured in defeats at Warrington Wolves and St Helens the following month, either side of Rhinos’ Wembley triumph over Salford Red Devils and was on the winning team for the first time away to Wakefield Trinity on November 1.

A fixture pile-up created those opportunities and O’Connor - described as “tough as teak” by coach Richard Agar - is keen to “try and get more consistent game time” in 2021.

He said: “Instead of coming in for a couple of games I want to try and push to get into the [initial 21-man] squad every game, if not get in the team.

“I want to try and have at least 10 games. I don’t know what Rich has in mind yet, but hopefully I can impress him in pre-season and then push on.”

O’Connor, whose father Terry is a former Great Britain Test front-rower, joined Rhinos’ academy from Widnes Vikings in 2019, along with Sam Walters who also made his debut last year.

He got a first taste of competitive open-age rugby in two appearances on dual-registration for Featherstone Rovers at the start of the 2020 Championship season, but it was a big step up into Super League, particularly for a player who hadn’t played since before lockdown began in March.

To add to the level of difficulty, O’Connor - a specialist back-rower - was selected as starting hooker in his first two Super League games and played all of both, before dropping to the bench against Saints and Wakefield. He said: “Playing 80 minutes in the first two games really helped me get to grips with it and then by the time I played in the Wakefield one it felt like a normal environment to play in.”

Of his change of position, to hooker, O’Connor added: “Rich said if I could play there for a few games it would help me get in the squad a bit more. “Obviously I started working on it and Rich thought I was progressing enough to get in there.”

He also filled in as a surprise goal kicker in his first two senior appearances, landing one conversion in each.

“I have never been a goal kicker, but I started practicing a couple of days before because we didn’t have a goal kicker,” O’Connor explained.

“I kept practising so I did it for the Catalans and Warrington games.

“It is good to get an extra attribute to my game.”

Rhinos are now two weeks into pre-season and O’Connor is enjoying being among the full-time squad again. He said: “Everyone’s glad to be back in and looking forward to getting back into a routine, especially after being in lockdown again. I did some running [during the off-season] and I am lucky enough to have a gym at home so I was going in that quite a lot of the time over Christmas.”

That raises the question, has O’Connor been training alongside his dad, who played at club level for Salford, Wigan and Widnes and is now a commentator on Sky Sports’ Super League coverage?

“I don’t normally go in the gym with him,” Jarrod said. “He tried to join in one of the running sessions, but he ended up pulling up with his back.

“He thought he was going to be able to keep up.”

Support the YEP and become a subscriber today. Enjoy unlimited access to local news and the latest on Leeds United, With a digital subscription, you see fewer ads, enjoy faster load times, and get access to exclusive newsletters and content. Click here to subscribe.