Leeds Rhinos' best Super League 17, class act deserves more credit & wheels on fire: latest talking points

There’s a buzz around the sides’ first Betfred Super League meeting since 2014 and Bulls are hoping for a crowd of up to 15,000. Here’s five talking points ahead of the big game.

1: Centre perks. With 14 touchdowns in six games (two tries, four, three, two, none, three) Maika Sivo has already passed the total achieved by Ryan Hall (13 from 27 matches) when he was Rhinos’ top try scorer last year. Sivo is a phenomenon, but it’s a team game and huge credit should go to the man playing inside him, Ash Handley.

When he arrived at Leeds midway through 2024, coach Brad Arthur felt Handley, then a winger, had more to offer. His shift to centre surprised fans, but the captain is simply a high-quality rugby player and he has handled the transition in impressive style.

Now 30, Handley has been in and around Rhinos’ first team since 2014 and doesn’t get the credit he deserves. Despite being hampered by a groin injury, he is arguably their most consistent player and Leeds are a better side when he’s on the field.

2: Odsal challenge. At the start of the season, playing Bulls three times this year looked like a favourable draw for Rhinos, but promoted Bradford have so far done a lot better than most pundits predicted and Friday will be a challenge for the visitors. It’s a small pitch and hostile atmosphere and if Bulls could pick one game to win all year it would be this one.

As the past couple of weeks have proved, Rhinos tend to do better in games they aren’t expected to win than when they go in as favourites. Bulls are unbeaten at home and ingredients are in place for an upset, but Leeds showed their battling qualities in the comeback against Warrington. It’s tough on a short turnaround, but they’ll need to do the same again.

Rhinos are a better team than Bradford and if they play well, they’ll win. It’s the sort of game that will show if they really are title contenders this year.

3: Flying start. Recent signing Jack Bird replaced Harry Newman in Leeds’ starting 13 against Warrington and, like the team, got better after a tough opening half an hour. Though he has been criticised for trying to milk a penalty late on, the former Wests Tigers man did enough to suggest he’s a good acquisition and possible first-choice centre when Newman heads to the NRL at the end of this season. He deserves to keep his place this week.

It’s not nice to be left out and Newman will need to earn back his spot, but he hadn’t missed a game for more than a year, his body will benefit from the rest and it might be what he needed to refresh and kick on for the rest of the season. It also shows coach Brad Arthur is willing to make changes, which should keep the whole squad on their toes.

4: Simply the best. As it’s the competition’s 30th anniversary, Leeds Rhinos best Super League 17: Brent Webb, Scott Donald, Kallum Watkins, Keith Senior, Ryan Hall, Danny McGuire, Rob Burrow, Kylie Leuluai, Danny Buderus, Jamie Peacock, Ali Lauitiiti, Gareth Ellis, Sir Kevin Sinfield. Subs Iestyn Harris, Barrie McDermott, Jamie Jones-Buchanan, Adrian Morley. Coach Tony Smith.

5: Wheely impressive. It’s probably fair to say Rhinos’ wheelchair side are highly motivated for the new season after missing out on silverware last year, for the first time since 2019.

It’s clear Rhinos mean business this term after they began their campaign with a massive 182-10 win at York Knights in the Challenge Cup. Josh Butler totalled an astonishing 13 tries and Nathan Collins crossed four times as well as adding 24 goals from 25 attempts. All eight players scored: Ewan Clibbens (three tries, four goals), Becky Wilkinson (three tries), Nathan Mulhall (two tries, one goal), plus Cam Hills, Tristan Norfolk and Jodie Boyd-Ward (two tries each).

England captain Tom Halliwell missed the entire 2025 season because of injury, but has now had shoulder surgery and there’s a chance he could be back this season, so signs are promising for 2026.