Leeds Rhinos super subs deserve England chance says coach as crucial crowd role outlined v Leigh Leopards

Cameron Smith has started just nine of his 24 Leeds games this season and fellow forward Tom Holroyd has been on the bench for 13 of his 20 appearances. The pair are both in outstanding form, with Smith scoring a try and making a game-saving tackle in last Friday’s 24-22 win at Wakefield Trinity, while Holroyd’s introduction swung the momentum Leeds’ way after they trailed 16-0.

“Cameron could start for us, but he is doing a good job, he’s comfortable with what he’s doing and it suits the way we want to play at the moment,” Arthur said of the loose-forward. And speaking ahead of tomorrow’s (Thursday) home clash with Leigh Leopards, he insisted “Cameron has really adjusted to that role - he has added such an impact to the point where I think he and Tom Holroyd are showing they could provide a really good option off the bench for [England].

“Tom with his impact plays and his aggression and Cameron comes on and he can change the point of attack with his footwork, his pass, his offload. I think if you are going to try to beat Australia you are not going to be able to defend your way to victory, you’re going to have to score points and both those guys can help with that.”

Rhinos will need a big effort from their bench in tomorrow’s meeting with sixth-placed Leigh, who are one of only four teams to beat them in Betfred Super League this term. That was in round one, exactly six months ago and Arthur reflected: “It was early in the season and both teams were feeling their way around the six-agains and rule interpretations.

“It’s a different game now to what it was then. They are playing some good footy at the moment, they are in good form and they’ll be quite confident.”

Though a Leeds win in tomorrow’s Sky Sports-televised game, refereed by Chris Kendall, would be a huge step towards a top-two finish, Arthur stressed: “This is the last in a block of four games and then we’ve got a good 10-day turnaround so our focus is purely on making sure we go after this game and attack it with all the effort and energy we need. We’ll get a good rest afterwards, but it is a big game for us in terms of backing up the last couple of performances where we’ve shown lots of grit and lots of fight.”

With Arthur’s side unbeaten at AMT Headingley this year, he stressed the home crowd have a key role to play. “It’s unreal,” he said of the Leeds atmosphere. “It’s passionate and it’s loud.

“I watched the Wakefield game back and you could hear the crowd for both teams constantly for 80 minutes, it was so loud. When you come to Headingley it’s like that and they are supporting their team right from the get-go to the end.

“Something I picked up on is we were down by 12 or 16 in that Wakefield game and the loudest crowd were the Leeds Rhinos fans. They were singing their songs, getting behind the team and they still believed we could get the job done.

“At home, they just give you an extra lift. We can use the energy from our fans and our crowd in owning some big moments and big effort plays; when you are down and out and feeling a bit sorry for yourself, they lift you.”