Leeds Rhinos' Jack Broadbent 'buzzing' after four-try haul in Super League win over Leigh Centurions

The 20-year-old back stole the show in Leeds Rhinos’ 48-18 win over Leigh Centurions two days ago, when he ran in four tries.

Broadbent, from Batley, has scored in each of Rhinos’ last three games, all since switching to the left-wing outside Tom Briscoe who is filling in at centre.

After a single in the win at Castleford in late May, he also bagged a brace against Salford Red Devils last Sunday and now has seven tries from nine appearances this term.

“I am absolutely buzzing,” was his reaction to a career-best haul in Rhinos’ latest win.

“I haven’t scored four tries in a game before in senior rugby, though I have a couple of times in the academy.

“It was my first senior hat-trick and I am enjoying in on the wing.

“It’s good when you’ve got Tommy setting you up and Sutty [Liam Sutcliffe] and Richie [Myler].

“I am happy playing there at the moment, but I will play anywhere.

“As long as I am in the team I am happy.”

Briscoe is one of the most experienced wingers in Betfred Super League, but started his career as a centre, when he played for Hull.

Broadbent feels playing alongside Briscoe is a big boost to his own development.

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“We are working hard in training and trying to build a combination and it is showing in the games,” he stated.

“Tommy has been around a while and I am picking up little things off him and trying to add them into my game.”

Rhinos are now on a three-game winning run and have boosted their victory rate to 50 per cent, though they remain outside the all-important top-six.

Leigh have lost all their 13 league fixtures so far, but Thursday could have been a banana skin for Leeds, just four days after their previous match and with 12 senior players unavailable.

The visitors scored inside three minutes, but Rhinos dominated after that and Broadbent reflected: “We knew if we just did our thing and played our style of rugby, we’d get the win.

“We didn’t think it was a banana skin because we know we’ve got young players - like Liam Tindall and Morgan Gannon - who can come in and do a job.”

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Three of Rhinos’ 17 - Kruise Leeming, Mikolaj Oledzki and Matt Prior - had also featured in the mid-season Test between England and Combined Nations All Stars, so were playing their third game in seven days.

Leeds are back in action away to Warrington Wolves on Monday before a home clash with Super League leaders Catalans Dragons four days after that, but Broadbent insisted: “They [the coaching staff] have done really well with our recovery.

“They’ve not pushed us too hard in training, we’ve not really had that much time on the field.

“We’ve done a lot of review and spent a lot of time recovering and getting our bodies right and I think it has paid off.”

Warrington are the form team in Super League and will have had an extra day’s test from their big win at Wigan Warriors last Wednesday.

It will be a huge challenge for Leeds, but Broadbent stressed: “We are using these congested fixtures as a chance to pull ourselves up the table.

“We don’t see it as a bad thing, we are trying to put ourselves back in the mix.”

For Broadbent, the game at Warrington is another opportunity to underline his status as one of the competition’s most promising emerging talents.

“Every week I am learning,” he said. “I am just trying to do my best.

“I’ll try and have another good performance and keep myself in the team.”

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