Latest Rhinos talking points as Keenan Palasia stars, injuries mount & Brad Arthur shows his mettle
After two games, it’s too early to tell how Leeds Rhinos’ season will go, but there have probably been more good signs than bad.
Leeds were poor in their 14-12 home loss to Wakefield Trinity in Betfred Super League round one, but bounced back with an outstanding gritty effort to win 32-6 at Salford Red Devils. Here’s five talking points.
1: The performance at Salford was what many fans hoped for and expected the previous week. Leeds were fast and strong, defended well, were clinical with the ball and played for the full-80 - or at least the final 78.
It was either a terrific response to the previous week’s poor showing, or a case of what they had worked on in pre-season coming together and the most impressive aspect was Rhinos’ response to adversity. They were resilient, which is an important quality in a tough sport like rugby league.
Having gone 6-0 down before they had possession and losing two pivotal players to injury in the first half, Leeds had excuses for not winning the game, but that was never on their agenda. Just like it was pointless getting too down after round one, fans shouldn’t get carried away with this win and performance, but it shows what Rhinos have been working on does work. There’s a big challenge now to string a run of wins and good performances together, which hasn’t happened since 2022.
2: Rhinos continue to pick up an injury, or two in last weekend’s case, every game. So far they’ve lost Jarrod O’Connor (knee) on Boxing Day, Maika Sivo (anterior cruciate ligament) in Ash Handley’s testimonial, Jack Sinfield (foot) against Wests Warriors, Mikolaj Oledzki (concussion) in the Wakefield defeat and Cameron Smith (ankle) and Brodie Croft (concussion) at Salford.
The loss of two pivotal players is a blow, but Leeds won last weekend’s second half 16-0 with their stand-off and loose-forward both watching from the sidelines, so can cope. Scrum-half Matt Frawley returned to the field after Croft’s injury, despite eight stitches in a hand wound and will have to play through that again this week, otherwise Leeds could be without all their specialist halves. Last Monday Sinfield was “two to three weeks away from full fitness”, according to the club, so might have a chance for this weekend.
If not, Morgan Gannon is an option after impressing when he stepped into the halves against Salford and/or, Jake Connor could switch there with Alfie Edgell coming in at full-back. Whoever plays, it’s important Leeds develop the ‘next man up’ mentality which Wakefield have shown in their opening couple of matches.
O’Connor’s return from injury was well-timed. He can slot in at loose-forward, or Arthur has the option of playing a prop there.
3: With Oledzki ruled out, Keenan Palasia stepped up to lead a big pack effort at Salford. The Samoan international was on the field for all but an eight-minute period late in the second half and took Leeds forward relentlessly.
This is a big year for Tom Holroyd, who is out of contract at the end of it having played just six games last term and he was strong off the bench, while top-flight rookie Cooper Jenkins did well in his Super League debut. There’s a long way to go and consistency is the key, but if they can maintain that standard, the days of Leeds’ pack being beaten up and shoved back by bigger opponents may be over.
4: Two pieces of history were made in last weekend’s game. When video referee Liam Rush overturned Liam Moore’s on-field call of a knock-on by Ash Handley - ruling the ball had been stolen - it was Super League’s first successful captain’s challenge.
At that stage, early in the second half, Leeds had Alfie Edgell on the bench, the first time their 18th man had come into the matchday side. He wasn’t used, but became available because Croft was lost to foul play.
Though there was a clash of heads with Jack Ormondroyd, Croft was caught by a swinging arm from Joe Shorrocks, who was subsequently sin-binned. There were some boos for Croft earlier in the game, but Salford’s fans deserve credit for chanting his name as he was treated and their applause when he was stretchered off.
5: James Bentley had a poor start to the game, but redeemed himself with at least one crucial tackle and a well-taken try. When he was given a breather late on, Arthur left his seat to shake hands with the second-rower, admitting afterwards Bentley’s discipline is a work in progress, so “it’s important when he gets it right I recognise that”. Good man-management and it’s not difficult to see why Leeds’ squad like playing for the experienced Aussie boss.