Peter Smith: Fans not convinced on social media but Richard Agar could be right man for job

The move has been made on an “interim” basis after James Lowes was released from his contract.

Lowes, who had a spell in charge of Yorkshire Carnegie before beginning his latest stint at Leeds, is to return to rugby unionat Ealing Trailfinders.

Agar joined Rhinos in the off-season as the club’s first head of player and coach development. That was a non-coaching position and he is going to continue in that role alongside his new duties.

After several years of poor decisions in terms of recruitment and retention, there now seems to be an automatic assumption among some fans that anything Rhinos do is negative.

That is understandable to an extent. The team’s fortunes have been in decline since 2015 – the Grand Final triumph two years later papered over the cracks – and so far the transition from the golden generation to a new era hasn’t been handled well.

But Kevin Sinfield’s return to Leeds as director of rugby was a positive step.

Given his status as a club legend, there was probably an unfair perception that simply his presence could provide a magical touch and everything would suddenly be coming up roses.

Unfortunately it doesn’t work like that. Sinfield, as he has admitted, took on a huge job and is in the early stages of that. He inherited a squad low on confidence and in a rut, but with many of the players on long-term contracts.

There has been a partial clear-out since the end of last year, but until contracts expire it won’t be possible for Sinfield – or coach Dave Furner – to build the group they want.

Recruitment has been criticised, but Konrad Hurrell has been Leeds’ most effective player this year and fellow marquee recruit Trent Merrin is also making a positive impact.

Other signings have largely been governed by what space is available on the salary cap. However, Ava Seumanufagai, recruited from Cronulla Sharks, seems to be exactly what the team have been missing – an aggressve go-forward prop who will toughen up the pack.

Furner is an experienced appointment. He has coached in the NRL, at head and assistant level, as well as internationally.

Have things improved under his watch? Not so far, but it is still relatively early days in his reign and there have been some positive signs.

With Rhinos bottom of the table more than a third of the way through the season, clearly pressure is mounting. But since Super League began in 1996 Leeds have only twice changed horses midstream and a panic move now probably wouldn’t solve anything.

Furner deserves to be given time and there are indications, once his message sinks in, Rhinos can become a decent team. In patches they have played good rugby, but there is no consistency and every step forward seems to be followed by one back.

The morale-boosting win over Castleford Tigers should have given them a platform, but Rhinos looked timid in their next game, at Hull KR and the opening quarter was as bad as anything served up by a Leeds team in Super League. Rhinos can certainly attack, but defence is letting them down. If the opposition get a set in Leeds’ 20 there’s a strong possibility they will score and some of the tries Rhinos have conceded have been embarrassingly soft.

Barge-overs from acting-half shouldn’t happen in Super League, but Rhinos have been broken down that way time and again. Clearly the coach has to take overall responsibility for that, but the bottom line is the players have to do better for longer.

That may be where Agar comes in. He is also vastly experienced, having coached York City Knights, Hull, Wakefield Trinity and France and been assistant to ex-Leeds boss Tony Smith at Warrington Wolves.

He knows the game and his input may be what’s required to eliminate the basic errors the team are making.

If not, then there’s nothing lost as, in terms of the Super League table, Leeds can’t drop any further than where they are at the moment.

A new voice is often a good thing and Agar – a half-back in his playing days – can bring a new approach to a situation where getting the basics right would bring about a significant improvement.