Leeds Rhinos coach Brad Arthur in 'good space' to make contract decision after crucial win v Leigh Leopards

Arthur has been offered a “multi-year” deal to stay on at Leeds after his contract expires at the end of this season. The Australian plans to discuss things with his family over the weekend and will give an answer to the club on Monday.

The players did their best to swing things Rhinos’ way with a spirited performance and, ultimately, a victory which lifted them to fourth in Betfred Super League, a point behind third-placed Leigh. Leeds went two ahead of St Helens - who are fifth - and six clear of Wakefield Trinity, in sixth, ahead of their meeting on Friday.

Asked in his post-match press conference if the win at Leigh would have any impact on his decision, Arthur stressed: “I love winning and I’ve really enjoyed my time here - I love it. The club can’t do any more than what they’ve done for me. I am so grateful. The players can’t do any more than what they have done for me. It is purely a decision around my family, but I am in a good space to make that decision now.”

Leeds hit back from 8-0 down to end Leopards’ five-match winning streak and complete a league double. Arthur paid tribute to his side’s never-say-die attitude, but admitted they need to cut out some “dumb” moments. He reflected: “The character and fight in this team has been there for 21 weeks.

“That’s the most impressive thing for me at the moment. It shows the players really care. We haven’t nailed our footy all the time, that’s a bit of a work-on, but I thought for the majority of the game our footy was really good. If we could just take out the five or six red-zone errors on tackle one, we are not doing a lot wrong outside that.”

He conceded: “The amount of defence we have to do on our tryline is self-inflicted. We are doing a really good job of controlling field position in terms of when teams are bringing the ball out of red zone; they aren’t getting out of red zone unless they get a 40-20 or maybe a penalty. Outside of that, we are gifting cheap position through some dumb things at times. If we can get some dumbness out of the performance, we should be okay.”

Leigh led 8-0 early on, but Jake Connor’s 40-20 kick got the visitors back in the contest. “It was a great play and it changed the context of the game,” Arthur said. “When we got back-to-back sets, we scored; the next time we got back-to-back sets near their tryline, we scored. There’s a lot of positive signs and the good thing is, there’s plenty to work on, which keeps them nice and level and doesn’t let their egos get ahead of themselves. Our footy’s not perfect at the moment, but what is is their attitude.”