Leeds Rhinos fans nervous for Warrington Wolves semi-final, hand out awards, grumble about 2027 kit

Rhinos’ prospects of a first Betfred Super League Grand Final appearance since 2022 hinge on Friday’s home semi-final against Warrington Wolves. Leeds finished second in the table, ahead of Warrington on points difference.

But while the Wolves are in impressive form, Leeds finished the regular season with successive defeats and have lost their last three at AMT Headingley. Here’s our panel’s thoughts on the big game and other Rhinos-related matters.

TOM GOLDSWORTHY

Leeds are 80 minutes away from their first Grand Final in four years, but must defeat a strong Warrington team to get there. If you offered me a home semi-final, after finishing second, before the season began, I would have snapped your hand off, but after spending most of the season top it’s slightly disappointing this is all we have to show for it.

Brad Arthur has had his work cut out trying to get some confidence back into the side with our week off. Against Hull FC we looked closer to a Rohan Smith team than a Brad Arthur one. We are a team that thrives on momentum and confidence and when things do not go our way, we start to panic. If we can get Jake Connor playing his best, I have no doubt we’ll quickly see us back to our best.

In both of our fixtures against Warrington this year we have shown we have the quality to beat them, especially Maika Sivo who scored a hat-trick in both games. It is important, however, we do not get complacent. They are still a dangerous opposition who easily dispatched Hull KR last Saturday and will pose a serious threat. For the first time this year, I am not predicting a Leeds win as I can see this game going either way. I just hope the boys give us a performance to be proud of.

KATIE MARCZYNSKI

So it's Warrington we face this Friday in our home semi-final. One more game between us and Old Trafford.

If you'd have told me at the start of the year we’d finish second in the league and be battling it out for our first piece of silverware in over six years, I’d have taken that. We’ve beaten the Wolves twice already this year so you’d think we might feel confident, but as I’ve said before, our form has gone at the worst possible time.

Apart from losing to Wakefield in round 26, Warrington haven’t been beaten since July so should go into the game as favourites, despite finishing below us in the table. We know we can beat them, so that’s what we need to do - simple as that

If we concentrate on ourselves, don’t worry about getting dragged into anything and play like we know we can, we should be heading to the Grand Final. I’m sure questions will be asked if we don’t win.

There’s a lot of talk already about us not performing in big games under Brad Arthur, but, for me, that isn’t down to Brad. We have players with enough experience and quality that should be able to step up on these occasions. It’ll be tough, but I think we’ll do it. Let’s get behind the boys and end the season on a high.

DAVID MUHL

I was lucky enough to be at Rhinos’ awards dinner the other Monday where, rightly, Jake Connor swept the board, winning the fans’, coaches’ and player’s player of the year honours. It got me thinking about what awards I’d give, so here you go.

First name on the team sheet award: Chris Hankinson. I was a little surprised when we signed him, I couldn’t see where he would improve the squad, but I was wrong. He has been Mr Consistency and fitted in in numerous positions.

Lift me out of my seat award: Maika Sivo. Every time he gets the ball you expect something, the excitement rises and most of the time he doesn’t let you down.

Raw meat award: Tom Holroyd. Whatever he’s being fed on this year, it has worked. He is the most improved player and never takes a backward step. He plays with controlled aggression and always dominates when on the field.

The why didn’t I go award: Vegas. I think this was our most perfect performance of the season so far and I missed it. I allowed She Who Must Be Obeyed to use the ‘it’s too expensive’ argument so had to settle for watching it on Sky. One of life’s regrets. The player we’ll miss the most next year award: James McDonnell. This was a difficult one, Brodie Croft has played some excellent rugby and is second in the try scoring chart, but James McDonnell’s defence is superb and, as shown when he was missing, he keeps that edge tight. He’s also not bad on attack and runs some lovely lines off Jake.

The best captain in Super League award: Ash Handley], not only for the way he plays, he must be a shoe in for the England side, but his calmness and leadership is number one.

Finally, a word about Friday. We need a massive improvement from recent weeks, but I’m hopeful we can do it. Even if we don’t, this season has been fantastic and already I can’t wait for next year.

BECKY OXLEY

I really don’t know where this season has gone. It doesn’t seem like two minutes since the kick-off of the first match of the season at Leigh on a cold Friday evening. Twenty-seven games later and here we are at the week of the Super League semi-final against Warrington.

This season has delivered considerable positive developments: our second-place finish, highest scorers, lowest points conceded and six Super League Dream Team selections. The optimism and confidence at the season’s outset suggested something exceptional lay ahead.

We have demonstrated excellent rugby throughout the campaign and, aside from a decline in our final two matches, it has been a period of genuine celebration for both the club and its supporters. Jake Connor stands out as the season’s most impressive performer.

His contributions have been instrumental in maintaining team momentum and his exceptional skill set has been remarkable. His numerous man of the match accolades reflect this distinction and I anticipate his performance on Friday will be compelling. Although his form has diminished slightly in recent matches, I am confident he will return to peak condition for Friday evening.

Friday night’s encounter with Warrington presents a compelling matchup. With second place facing third in the league standings, everything remains to be decided. I anticipate a closely-contested, competitive match with end-to-end action. Should we maintain the correct approach and execute our capabilities effectively, I believe we will secure the victory and advance to Old Trafford on October 3. Let’s have Headingley buzzing.

IAIN SHARP

It has come around so soon. It only seems like five minutes since the start of the season, but now the regular domestic fixtures have concluded and the play-off series in full swing.

Leeds have already launched their home shirt for the 2027 season. Regular readers will know my thoughts on both the number of shirts the club launches (and the reasons for it) and their design and I am not going to use this opportunity to critique the new one.

However, consider some of the iconic football shirts out there: Glasgow Celtic, Ajax Amsterdam and many others. Even though their shirts change, like Leeds’, season to

season, they still manage to retain their traditional shirt design and colours in their new

kits.

I would argue the blue and three irregular amber hoops across the middle of a traditional Leeds RLFC shirt is equally iconic. It is not difficult to see why the 1999 home shirt, the last classic Leeds shirt produced by the club, was incredibly popular.

So, if the club is reading this, don’t spurn a brand identity’ - to use the modern parlance - that has been given to you on plate by history and let’s see a few more designs that incorporate those hoops. You never know, if they are any good, I might even buy it.