'Starting to take shape': Leeds Rhinos looking good for Wakefield Trinity Festive clash says Rohan Smith

Rhinos begin their pre-season campaign when Wakefield Trinity visit Headingley for the annual Wetherby Whaler Festive Challenge.

Though the full squad won’t get together until the new year, some players have been in training since early November and Smith is relishing seeing hard work put into practice.

“This is a really enjoyable period of time where you can see improvement and people preparing to play and maybe our identity as a team is starting to take some shape through these weeks of hard work,” he said.

Monday’s game comes more than seven weeks before Rhinos’ opening Betfred Super League fixture, at Warrington Wolves on February 16, but Smith stressed “I want to get a lot out of it.”

He said: “I want to see what we’ve been working on from a rugby league point of view, as well as a physical one, in action.

“I want to see people playing together and representing our club and getting the season started, essentially - getting the ball rolling for what’s ahead in the rest of pre-season.

“I think it will be a positive day for us and I am excited by it. From what I understand, the fans look forward to it, everyone’s off work and together with their families, so what better way to enjoy some time together than coming and watching some players rip in to entertain us?

“I am looking forward to reacquainting with the fans and introducing some new players and some young players from our academy.”

Second-rower Joe Gibbons, full-back Alfie Edgell and centre Jack Smith will all feature after joining the full-time squad in pre-season and part-timers Mackenzie Turner, an outside-back and prop Tom Nicholson-Watton are also included.

“I am really excited by those guys getting an opportunity - and building a squad for the year ahead and the seasons ahead,” Smith said.

“This game is about giving people exposure to a higher level than they’ve been to before, so I look forward to that.

“It’s important players get exposed to enough game time to get ready for competition matches and for young players to get exposed to a new level, to get them ready to make a debut or feature during the season on a more prominent basis.

“We’ll juggle that around and do what we need to to get ready for round one, but I look forward to everyone getting significant game time through the friendly period.”

Smith described pre-season preparations so far as “really purposeful”. He said: “We had a sort of rolling start, with the World Cup, visas, work permits and the New Zealand game.

“We had a lot of young kids in first, who hadn’t played much at the back end of last season, so that was exciting, then as we’ve gone on we’ve added more experience and wisdom and knowledge and expertise and competition has come with that.

“It has been very competitive and we look forward in the new year to having Zane [Tetevano] and Rhyse [Martin] back as well, then we’ll start to crank things up for the start of the season.”

Of who has stood out so far, Smith insisted: “Nobody hasn’t impressed me. The approach has been really good, we have got a very broad range of experience and maturity from a physical and a footy point of view.

“There’s a big range in our group and I feel everyone has attacked it, I am pleased with everyone.”

Unlike some previous pre-seasons, Rhinos - who will not be going abroad for a warm weather camp - have so far avoided any weather-related disruption.

“We haven’t missed a beat with the plan we’ve had,” Smith confirmed. “We are fortunate to have great facilities with the 3g down at Kirkstall. We’ve had a couple of sessions on Headingley as well, which has been really helpful for what’s ahead.”

Leeds Rhinos: Handley, Simpson, Edwards, Olpherts, Tindall, organ Gannon, Myler, Walters, Leeming, Holroyd, Gibbons, McDonnell, Donaldson. Subs O'Connor, Sangare, Ruan, Turner, Nicholson-Watton, Edgell, Field, Smith.Wakefield Trinity: from Ashurst, Atoni, Edie Battye, Bowden, Bowes, Butler, Butterworth, Crowther, Eseh, Gaskell, Jowitt, Kershaw, Law, Lineham, Lino, Lyne, Murphy, Pitts, Pratt, Smith, Whitbread, Windrow.

Referee: Ben Thaler (Wakefield).

Kick-off: Boxing Day, 11.30am.