Young guns feeding off experience at Leeds Rhinos says Jamie Jones-Buchanan

The former second-rower, who hung up his boots at the end of last season, has put Rhinos’ good form before the Covid-19 outbreak down to a mixture of enthusiasm and experience.

Only six of the 36 players with a Rhinos squad number for 2020 are aged 30 or older and Jones-Buchanan reckons the younger players who have already had a taste of senior action are really getting to grips with the demands of Betfred Super League.

Rhinos are third in the table and conceded only 60 points in their first five games of the season, half of those in the round-one defeat by Hull.

They have kept three clean sheets in 21 matches since Richard Agar took over as coach in May last year, including a 36-0 whitewash of Warrington Wolves this season.

Leeds, who have two games in hand on some of their Super League rivals, boast the best defensive record in the competition so far this year, as well the most potent attack – though they have played only once away from home and have faced just one of the current top-seven teams.

“I think a lot of it is down to youth,” Jones-Buchanan said of Rhinos’ impressive performances before the unscheduled lay-off.

“There’s a few boys who have turned that corner from teenage/early 20s.

“They are getting to 22, 23 years old and really starting to turn into men – people like Mikolaj Oledzki and Cameron Smith.

“Matty Prior is like Superman in defence and really leads by example so they are feeding off one another and, for me as the biggest Leeds fan there is, it is really exciting to see.”

Rhinos will be back on the field a month today when they face Huddersfield Giants in the third game of Betfred Super League’s project restart triple-header.

Giants were among the early pace-setters and are fifth in the table, behind Rhinos on points difference.

Huddersfield conceded only 78 points in their first five games, the second-best defence in the competition behind Leeds.

Rhinos kept a clean sheet the last time the sides met – at John Smith’s Stadium on August 2 last year.

And Jones-Buchanan reckons the way Leeds have been using solid defence as a platform to attack has been one of the most impressive aspects of their improved form under Agar.

“They have been defending well,” Jones-Buchanan said of Leeds’ performances in the opening month of the campaign. “It is a two-edged sword for them, it comes down to commitment and hard work and it is exciting they are scoring points and making line breaks.

“It is a long, long time since Leeds have created line breaks like these guys have done and since they have gone on and finished off by flooding through in numbers.”

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