Rohan Smith is the ‘perfect’ man to lead Leeds Rhinos says Gary Hetherington

Smith, 40 - the nephew of former Rhinos and current Hull KR coach Tony Smith - has been appointed on a contract until the end of 2025, but is in Australia waiting for paperwork to be processed.

Interim-coach Jamie Jones-Buchanan will remain in charge for Friday’s visit of Toulouse Olympique.

Smith has no head-coach experience at the top level in either Australia or Europe, but has spent time on the backroom staff at clubs in both competitions and is son of the vastly-experienced Brian Smith who has been in charge of teams in Super League and the NRL.

He had a spell as Bradford Bulls coach in the Championship and guided Norths Devils - Brisbane Broncos’ feeder club - to a Queensland Cup Grand Final win last year.

Rhinos chief executive Gary Hetherington met with Smith on a recent trip to Australia and insisted, while he is not a big name, the new man ticks the right boxes.

“He is very ambitious, he has been very successful and he is very committed,” Hetherington said.

“He has a real passion for the game and we see him being an integral part of the club for many years to come.

“It is very much a long-term appointment, to build and guide our team.

“We have an outstanding crop of young players and he’ll be a perfect mentor to those players.

“In terms of what we are looking for at this juncture, I believe Rohan Smith is the perfect candidate.”

Hetherington said he expects Smith to arrive in Leeds “pretty soon, all being well”.

He confirmed: “The [visa] application process is already live and there’s a chance he could be here for next Friday when we play Hull KR, which would be interesting because Tony Smith will be coaching the Rovers.

“Come what may, Jamie Jones-Buchanan and his staff will remain in charge for this Friday’s game against Toulouse and indeed the following Friday as well.”

Outlining the task at hand for the in-coming boss, Hetherington said: “The priority for us is to get some winning results.

“More long term, it is to get some of our quality players on the field and get them playing well and show our fans what we are capable of doing, which we’ve not been able to do so far this season.”

Rhinos announced Rohan Smith’s appointment on the same day Tony Smith revealed he will be leaving Hull KR when his contract expires this autumn.

That has led to speculation the elder Smith could also be heading to Rhinos, possibly as director of rugby, but Hetherington insisted the timing was coincidental as has Smith.

“That has come as a surprise to me,” he said of Tony Smith’s announcement.

“It was completely out of the blue.”

Hetherington added: “Rohan will inherit the staff that’s here now and indeed the players.

“Jamie Jones-Buchanan will revert to being assistant-coach; I think this experience has been invaluable for him and he is certainly a potential head coach for the future.

“It has been an unexpected experience, but one he has handled extremely well.”

With a host of players injured or suspended, Jones-Buchanan has named an initial 20-man squad for tomorrow’s match - one fewer than normal, leaving space for a possible loan signing.

Hetherington refused to rule out a move for ex-Leeds and Castleford Tigers full-back/centre Zak Hardaker, who is currently out of favour at Wigan Warriors.

He said: “We are looking for any player who can add value.

“Zak Hardaker is an outstanding player, but we have been scouring the market to see which players may be available.

“We didn’t expect to have 10 of our frontline players missing, which is what we’ve got at the moment.”