Leeds Rhinos warned of new coach bounce as Brad Arthur says better execution needed v Huddersfield Giants
Leeds Rhinos have been warned to expect a new coach bounce from Huddersfield Giants at AMT Headingley tomorrow (Friday).
It will be Jim Lenihan’s first game as Huddersfield Giants boss and his Leeds rival Brad Arthur knows visiting players will be anxious to impress their new chief. The former Giants player had spells as assistant- and interim-coach at NRL outfit Gold Coast Titans and was in charge of Queensland Cup club Brisbane Tigers before joining Huddersfield.
He arrived in this country on Monday and has been able to name only 20 players - rather than the usual 21 - in his initial squad, but Arthur stressed: “With a new coach they are going to come out and be full of energy and effort. They will want to impress and the best way to do that is around their attitude.
“I think they are going to have a really good attitude to the game. I don’t know a lot [about Lenihan], but I know he is well regarded in Australia and respected and he’s a coach who has been in the game a long time. He comes with a lot of experience and he’ll be good for the club.”
Arthur joined Rhinos in July, 2024 and will announce at the end of next month whether he is staying on for next season. He had one piece of advice for his opposite number: “Enjoy it. I am - I love it.”
Rhinos are on the back of a 24-4 defeat at Wigan Warriors seven days earlier, but thumped Giants 56-22 in the away game six weeks ago. Of what’s needed in this game, Arthur insisted: “Our physicality can’t be questioned and it wasn’t against Wigan.
“Our effort isn’t questionable and I thought we dominated a lot of areas. We talked about it at the end of last year, our stats were premiership-winning stats and we didn't win a premiership. Our stats last weekend were winning stats and we didn’t win the game.
“There were some reasons why, there were a couple of big moments and a couple of fine margins which we got wrong and against really good teams, they’ll make you pay. They didn’t get many opportunities, but the ones they did they nailed. I think we created a lot of opportunities which we missed.”