Leeds Rhinos fans delighted by Brad Arthur's new contract, predict bright future for Super League leaders
It has been a positive few days for Leeds Rhinos with a win over St Helens and the announcement of a new contract for coach Brad Arthur.
Rhinos hit back from eight points down at the break to pick up their first home victory against Saints since 2017. And Arthur, whose previous deal was due to expire this autumn, has now committed his future to the club until the end of 2028. Here the YEP’s fans jury reflect on those events and look ahead to Saturday’s clash with Toulouse Olympique in the south of France.
BECKY OXLEY
Finally, we have triumphed over St Helens in our own territory. It has been a long series of losses and they have proven to be a tough opponent. It feels rewarding to be at the top of the league, especially after defeating a team of Saints' caliber.
One aspect that particularly frustrated me during the first half was the game’s frequent interruptions. It lasted approximately 13 minutes longer than the standard 40, disrupting the flow of play. The video referees must refrain from endlessly reviewing situations from multiple angles, only to discover yet another angle after a decision has already been reached. Although the game has generally become quicker this season, it seems to be regressing once more.
Brad Arthur’s remark that “we were good, but not great” resonates with my assessment of the match. We accomplished what was necessary to secure the win, yet there are still areas that require improvement.
One player who has notably progressed - and I never expected to say this - is Harry Newman. Since his loan period at Hull, he has developed in both character and presence. He has played without petulance and has truly embraced being a team player.
Looking ahead, we face Toulouse on Friday in France. While it seems like an easy two points on paper, I anticipate they will come out fiercely and challenge us. I am eager to see how we perform in our first encounter against them this season.
DAVID MUHL
I wasn't able to watch the match live as my wife didn't check the fixture list when booking our holiday so had to make do with Sky via SuperLeague+. I was worried when Jon Wlkin tipped Leeds to win, not usually a good sign.
The game was preceded by a tribute to John Kear, who died the previous weekend. I met John a couple of times and he was a lovely man, he will be missed.
The game was a strange one, we struggled in the first half, never really got into the flow and looked second best. Although not playing well, we managed to keep Saints to a lead of just eight points. The second half was a different matter; we played some lovely rugby with Jake Connor pulling all the strings. The most pleasing thing for me was not the 16 points we scored in the second half, but that we kept Saints to nil.
Although Jake rightly got the plaudits, half-backs cannot perform unless the forwards are doing their job and in the second half they were really on top with Mik Oledzki on fine form. Special mention must go to Ryan Hall who worked his socks off.
He's not going to score length of the field tries any more, but his runs out of defence are brilliant and in some ways it's like having an extra forward on the pitch.
They say good things come in threes and this weekend my premium bonds came in, Leeds ended their home losing run to Saints, but the best was yet to come with Brad Arthur signing a two-year contract extension.
This puts an end to the yearly 'will he won't he' saga for at least a couple of years. Toulouse away next then the big two, Warrington and Hull KR. After these fixtures we will have a better idea if we are real title contenders.
IAIN SHARP
I’d wager for most Leeds fans, Thursday, June 4, had a big red ring around it on their calendar after the fixtures were published - the first return of St Helens after ‘that game’ at end of last season.
The match didn’t disappoint and was nip and tuck for most of it. Jake Connor was at his mercurial best and in full on goad mode. Leeds, underwhelming in the first half, clearly received the necessary paint stripping at half-time, to get stuck in during the second period and, with the critical try coming once again from Maika Sivo, buried the nine-year hoodoo of not being able to beat St Helens at home.
Like the current debate in football, ‘technical cramps’ seem to be creeping into rugby league, with a couple of dubious injuries occurring a little too conveniently at critical moments from Saints players crumpling up clutching their legs. Given the genuine knocks from the regular collisions in rugby, how it is eradicated is anyone’s guess.
This week sees Leeds return to France and a rare opportunity to score there, given our trips to Catalans recently have drawn a blank. Safe travels to those making the trip to Toulouse.
TOM GOLDSWORTHY
The win against St Helens feels monumental for so many reasons and is definitely our biggest result so far this season. Last year it felt like no matter how good we played, Saints had our number and always managed to come away with the win.
Pair this with the fact we hadn't beat them at Headingley since 2017, it felt so good to finally get that win and get that monkey off our back. It will do the team's confidence a world of good and hopefully we can push on and make this a season to remember.
While we were not great in the first half, I was impressed with our composure and calmness to keep level headed when the game was going against us and the Saints players were doing their best to get in our heads with their grubby tactics. Our hard work paid off in the second half when we made our dominance count and came away with a deserved win.
Every one of our players stepped up and put 100 per cent effort in, but it was once again Jake Connor who stole the show. His play-making skills and kicking were incredible, especially in the second half and gave us the platform to turn around the half-time deficit. His performances in a Leeds shirt just keep improving and Brad Arthur has made him into a real superstar. Speaking of Brad Arthur, I was over the moon to hear he has extended his contract for an extra two years.
He has completely changed the culture of the club and is getting the best out of a team that was struggling to make play-offs. It also eases my anxieties around recruitment for next year as there must be a solid plan for him to stay. The future is bright for Leeds with Arthur staying.
Looking ahead to Toulouse, we must not let the standards slip against a newly-promoted side. Leeds are top of the league and we need to show we have the consistency to be there. With the form we are in, I can't see anything but a Rhinos win heading into a tough run of fixtures.
KATIE MARCZYNSKI
I'll be honest, I didn't see us winning that one at half-time. St Helens were by far the better side in the first half and deserved to be in front. But a better second half from us and another Jake Connor masterclass - he was man of the match for me - and we secured our first home win against Saints since 2017.
It wasn't our best performance by any means and we certainly had many of the 50/50 decisions go our way, but we did well to get back into the game and seemed to really rattle our opponents.
The wins kept on coming this weekend - two more years, two more years Brad Arthur. Now that's sorted, the club can turn their focus to recruitment for 2027 and continue to build on what hopefully ends up being a successful 2026 season.
Turning our attention back to Super League and this week's opponents, Toulouse. Without being disrespectful, these are the teams we should be easily beating if we're serious about winning anything this year. I'll be hoping Saints beat Warrington to allow us a comfortable two-point buffer at the top, but as long as we come away with two points that's all that really matters.