Why these key Leeds Rhinos stars have a point to prove in 2024 Super League season

Rhinos are desperate to get back among Betfred Super League’s big guns after missing out on the play-offs in 2023 and finishing outside the top four for the sixth successive campaign, which is the club’s worst run since the 1940s/50s. Coach Rohan Smith has assembled a new-look squad and most of his players have been in training since the start of pre-season, more than three months ago. Rhinos’ round one fixture at home to Salford Red Devils is now less than a month away and here we identify five individuals in particular who will be looking to have a big year.

Rohan Smith

The coach is entering his third season at Leeds and has had mixed fortunes so far, having turned around the club’s fortunes in 2022 before they under-achieved the following year. The club stood by him last term and have provided money to strengthen the team in the off-season, so he needs to deliver.

He has overseen a turnaround in players and it is largely his team now. Though he got some things wrong last year, the feeling at the club is the team’s failure was more a case of players under-performing than the coach not being up to the task. It’s a results business though and pressure will mount on the boss if Rhinos make what has become their traditional slow start.

Mikolaj Oledzki

Player of the year in 2021 and 2022, the big prop - by his own admission - dropped below those standards last term. Previous seasons meant he had a lot to live up to, but at 25 he’s now a senior player and should be coming into his prime.

He has had a full pre-season, after injury problems at the end of 2022 and during the 2023 campaign and is highly motivated to prove last year was a blip. Rhinos will need more from him this term, but when he’s on song there aren’t many better front-rowers in Super League and he will be key to Leeds’ hopes of success.

Brodie Croft

The former Man of Steel has been described by Rhinos’ chief executive Gary Hetherington as Leeds’ biggest signing since Iestyn Harris in 1997 and it’s hard to argue with that. He is an addition who has excited the fans and will be expected to deliver.

He was unplayable at times during his spell with Salford Red Devils, but Leeds is a bigger club and a higher-pressure environment. The stand-off will be in the spotlight every week, making him a target should things go wrong, but if Croft plays well he will ensure Rhinos are a better team.

Cameron Smith

He is Rhinos’ reigning player of the year and their new official captain, but the 25-year-old still has a point to prove. Despite his durability, consistent performances and growing influence on his team, Smith is yet to break through into the England squad and hasn’t received much recognition outside Leeds. The ball-playing loose-forward has as much natural ability as any player in the European game and if he can have another good season, national coach Shaun Wane may find him difficult to overlook.

Morgan Gannon

Remarkably, this will be the second-rower’s fourth campaign in the full-time squad and he didn’t turn 20 until last month. However, injuries hampered his progress in 2023 and he picked up another knock in Rhinos’ opening pre-season game, on Boxing Day.

It seems Gannon will be focused on his specialist role in the pack this term after an experimental switch to stand-off at times last year, but he faces tough competition from Rhyse Martin, James Bentley and James McDonnell and probably won’t start the campaign as first-choice. There’s no doubting his ability and he has time on his side, but what the England Knights prospect really needs this year is an injury-free run and some consistent game time.