Leeds Rhinos star issues 'tough part' warning as Castleford Tigers aim to ruin Las Vegas homecoming

Levi, who joined Rhinos in pre-season from Canberra Raiders, was in impressive form during last Saturday’s 58-6 Las Vegas hammering of reigning Betfred Challenge Cup, Super League and World Club champions Hull KR. But while the result at Allegiant Stadium may have made the rest of the competition sit up and take note, Levi stressed Leeds’ players aren’t getting too far ahead of themselves just a month into the season.

“We’ve always thought we can do something [special] this year,” Levi stated. “But at the same time, it’s round three and there’s a long, long way to go. It was a really good scoreline to put on a team like that and we celebrated it, but we’ve got a big game this week against Castleford.”

An emphatic home defeat of Huddersfield Giants last weekend got Tigers off the mark and have a habit of raising their game against Leeds. With Rhinos having to put a long return journey - and the high of their win over the Robins - behind them, the visitors will fancy their chances of creating an upset at AMT Headingley.

Levi insisted, for Leeds, it’s all about maintaining standards. He warned: “We can’t take any team lightly; every game we go into, we have to back it up. We’ve set a pretty high standard and we have to make sure we back that up and keep going. That’s the tough part; it is a long season, but [it’s about] being able to do it week-in, week-out.

“There’s going to be dips in there, but a big thing for us is making sure we compete hard and out-compete our opposite number. If we can do that, we will be a tough team to stop.”

Reflecting on his second rugby visit to Vegas - having been an unused squad member for Raiders in 2025 - Levi described last week as “unreal, an awesome experience”. He stated: I’m happy the boys put on a show like that, especially in front of all the supporters who made the trip over.

“We had a really good week to prepare and the boys were really sensible. Obviously, being in Las Vegas, there’s a lot of distractions, with the bright lights, but we knew we had a job to do when we went there.

“We put a big emphasis on out-competing them and working hard. We did that and it showed on the scoreboard. The pack were awesome, they definitely set the standard. That was our plan, to go through them and they did that.”

Levi avoided any further action after being charged by the RFL’s match review panel with grade A head contact during last week’s game. He suffered a badly cut eye, which needed several stitches, early in the contest , but was able to play on. He joked: “It is all good, I have got plenty of scars on my face so another one won’t hurt. I have got to stop tackling with my head.”