YEP Jury pick their outstanding Leeds Rhinos players this season

MATT FOWLER

There is light at the end of the tunnel on the season resuming and it can’t come soon enough.

Hopefully Leeds can carry on where they left off and build on a strong start. There were some great signs that this team had some steel and flair about it and each game confidence was building.

Luke Gale has looked superb and is linking up play very well.

Many were concerned about his long injury lay-off, but I must say he looks a great acquisition and has eased the burden on Robert Lui and Richie Myler, who are also showing real flair to their game.

The standout for me has been Harry Newman. This kid has bags of potential.

Last season he was showing sporadic signs of his talent but the first five games this season he has produced consistently high performances.

He has added a little bit of muscle to his frame in the off season and he now looks like he can break the line on every carry.

I hope the forced lay-off hasn’t dimmed his confidence and he can jump straight back into the form he was in. There is no doubt he is a match winner.

CHRISTINE KIDD

Who is Leeds Rhinos most improved player this season?

Well, I would probably have to say that they have all improved greatly as a team from last season, apart from the first game against Hull FC.

As regards individual players, I think Harry Newman and Cameron Smith are the two players who have improved most from last season.

Harry Newman is 20 years old and, after replacing Kallum Watkins in the centres, he has not looked out of place at all.

The Rhinos have shown great faith in him this season, giving him the No 3 shirt.

He has not let anyone down so far and has a good turn of pace.

Cameron Smith has built on his performances of last season and is becoming a ball-playing loose-forward in the Kevin Sinfield mould.

His performances this season so far have been excellent with his contribution improving with each game. At 21 years of age he is still fairly young and should have a great career in front of him after making his Super League debut for the Rhinos in 2016.

GRAHAM POULTER

The player that’s impressed me so far playing for Leeds Rhinos this season has been Cameron Smith.

You can see quite clearly that he’s worked so hard in the off season on his game and fitness.

He flies into every tackle and he takes the team forward with the runs he makes.

I do hope that he and Leeds can carry on when the campaign resumes from where they left off when the season came to an abrupt halt.

If he keeps up the good work then I’m sure that international honours will come his way.

He will fit perfectly into a team managed by England head coach Shaun Wane, with the style of rugby that the former Wigan Warriors boss and Leeds forward plays.

Cameron Smith has a never-say-die attitude and that can only rub off on his team-mates.

I think that he could be a future captain of Leeds with his attitude and the standards that he sets for himself and his teammates.

He will definitely go far in the game and, hopefully, he can avoid getting any serious injuries!

DIANNE HALL

After playing only five games, picking the player that has impressed me the most so far in the 2020 season has proved difficult.

Several players have caught my eye in the brief season to date.

The first is Rhyse Martin. His goalkicking is up there with the best and maybe we might have someone, at last, to fill the gap left by the prolific Kevin Sinfield!

He has a good footballing brain and is capable of making line breaks which can be converted to scoring opportunities by supporting team-mates.

He also has a decent turn of pace for a forward which helps in his support play.

The other player who has impressed me, especially with his attitude, is Richie Myler.

At the start of the season he could have taken his bat home when he was relegated to the bench.

However, to his credit, he has become a fine team player, filling in at hooker and more recently at full-back.

He will probably have to play at full-back at the restart with the news that Jack Walker may not be available yet.

IAN SHARP

This week is all about players that have caught our eye in the few games that we have played so far in this fragmented season.

From the pre-season games and the games we have played, I’ve got a few I think, in my opinion, who have stood out.

Up first is Rhyse Martin. I think he has been a great signing for us, he gels together the second-row, his turn of speed and quick movement is akin to what Brett Delaney brought to the position, and his kicking is up there with the best.

Luke Gale also seems to have found his mojo in the first few games.

He has spells where he is mesmerising to watch; long may it continue.

Cameron Smith has also stood out so far, as well as Jack Walker and another of our exciting fledgling players in Harry Newman.

The future looks in good hands.

Matt Prior has also started to find his feet in the pack and is showing great signs of what’s to come.

Brad Dwyer and Richie Myler have also started out on great form; let’s hope we pick up where we left off in March.

ADAM ANDERSON

The season isn’t too old, if you don’t count the coronavirus break, but Leeds Rhinos have had a number of stand-out performers so far.

Harry Newman is becoming one of the best centres in Super League with every game that goes by.

Brad Dwyer has made the absence of Kruise Leeming look minor and Richie Myler has slotted in anywhere when asked and performed well.

But my absolute pick of a very good bunch has to be Cameron Smith.

We all wondered how we would replace seasoned Australian, Trent Merrin, when he returned home but nobody, to my knowledge, looked at Smith at the time.

He’s very much in the mould of Sean O’Loughlin, the Wigan Warriors captain, which is great for us.

Cameron has been instrumental in all the games.

It’s been a while since we’ve had a proper loose-forward. It seems that the loans out to Bradford and dual registration have done him good.

Hopefully, when the season returns, he will he still in the same form he was in.

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