Leeds Rhinos are 'a joy to be part of' says Brodie Croft as Brad Arthur's men prepare for Hull KR challenge
Star stand-off Brodie Croft says the style of rugby Leeds Rhinos are playing under Brad Arthur is “a joy to be part of”.
Rhinos are fourth in Betfred Super League ahead of tomorrow’s (Thursday) home game against leaders Hull KR and a win would take them level on points with second-placed Wigan Warriors. Leeds hit their biggest score of the campaign in a 64-6 victory at Castleford Tigers last Saturday and Croft insisted: “Brad has created a really good winning culture here at the club.”
He said: “We come into every game expecting that - or more so expecting a performance and hopefully the result will come on the back of that. Fortunately, they have been and hopefully they keep doing that going forward.”
Croft - who is in the second season of his three-year contract - feels Arthur’s decision to stay at Leeds in 2026 means they can continue to build. He added: “The boys have got a lot of confidence in the systems he has brought in to play.
“Everyone has bought into it and you can see that from the way we are playing, particularly defensively. Our attack has been playing off the back of that. It is a real joy to be a part of and hopefully we can keep pushing in the big games coming up at the back end of the season.”
That starts tomorrow and Croft stressed: “We are under no illusion how big the game is. We are back at home against KR who have been playing some quality footy all year. [Last week] was a good lead up to that and we will be raring to go. We would love to get second spot and a home [semi-] final - that would be ideal.”
Croft, who scored two of Rhinos’ 11 tries, feels last week was the ideal lead into a huge encounter. “It was a very professional performance from the team,” he reflected. “I thought we had some real good physicality, particularly in that first half and that laid a pathway for us to play some nice expansive footy on the back of it. We didn’t push it too much, as you can sometimes in those types of games, but we did enough to keep the scoreboard ticking, which is always nice.”
Though most of Leeds’ tries were scored by backs, Croft credited the pack for setting the platform. “That was probably one of the most pleasing things, seeing the boys who stepped up - like Presley Cassell and Ben Littlewood,” he noted. “They were really big for us and it was good to get some minutes into them and for them to get some experience.”
Both rookies will feature again against Hull KR, with Cassell set to make his second successive start and the fifth appearance of his senior career. Croft said: “Being here for the last couple of years, I have seen him grow through the academy. He has trained a lot with us [the full-time squad] and he really holds his own. He has pushed his way into the first team and he has definitely got a bright future here at Leeds.”