'Not sure yet': Leeds Rhinos' Jarrod O'Connor still pondering Super League role after breakthrough year

O’Connor had an outstanding season in 2022, becoming a regular in Rhinos’ Betfred Super League squad and starting in their Grand Final defeat by St Helens.

That was his 25th appearance of the campaign and he played in every game under coach Rohan Smith, who joined the club in May.

Having moved to Leeds, from Widnes Vikings’ academy, as a loose-forward, O’Connor is now making a name for himself at hooker.

O’Connor’s form in his new role kept captain Kruise Leeming out of Leeds’ starting side through the 2022 play-offs, though the pair are set to swap places on Boxing Day when Rhinos begin their pre-season campaign against Wakefield Trinity at Headingley.

Even so, a decision has yet to be made on where O’Connor’s future lies and as things stand, his main concern is securing a place in the starting side when Super League kicks off in February.

“At the minute, we’re not too sure,” O’Connor admitted of his long-term role. “At the end of last season I quite enjoyed it when I’d start at nine and go to 13 in the game and just rotate when anybody needed a rest around me.

“I want to play long minutes and do as much as I can. I am happy with either position, but I definitely want to be pushing for a starting role this year.”

Last season’s form earned O’Connor a huge rise on Rhinos’ squad list, from number 24 to 14.

He admitted that was “a real highlight to add on to last year”, but insisted performances - in training and matches - are what count when it comes to team selection.

He said: “It was a good year for me, to get to a Grand Final when I wasn’t even playing every game at the start of the year, but it’s just a squad number.

“I know I need to play well to get into the team. Obviously Rohan knows that too and he lets everyone know that, but it is a big boost to confidence. It lets me know Rohan has confidence in me to play well.”

Second season syndrome - when a player fails to build on a breakthrough year - is something O’Connor is aware of.

“There’s a few lads [pushing for places at hooker],” he warned. “As soon as Corey Johnson’s fit he will be going for that role as well and there’s a young lad called Bailey [Aldridge] who has been training really well.

“He’s pushing as well so it’s good competition. I want to compete with Kruise and Cam [Smith] for either nine or 13 so I think all round, with the squad depth we’ve got this year, people aren’t just filling in, they are pushing for starting places. I think that will push everyone a bit more this year.”

Monday is the first chance for Rhinos’ new look squad to impress Smith, after more than a month of putting in the hard yards at training.

O’Connor was in the second group of players to begin pre-season, on November 14 and he reflected: “It has gone really well.

“It has been quite tough, especially the first couple of weeks when we were getting flogged a bit.

“But we’ve been getting out a bit - doing jiu-jitsu and some boxing - so it has been enjoyable, mixing things up and not just doing the same old stuff clubs usually do.

“Incorporating things like that into training keeps the lads fresh. Boxing was just for general fitness, working hard and the jiu-jitsu is about the wrestling and how we can find little points to keep our opponents on the floor a bit longer or get out of tackles and play the ball a bit faster.

“It is enjoyable because you’re learning new skills. A lot of the lads haven’t done most of those things before so it’s fun to compete with them in different sports.”