'Less is more': Leeds Rhinos coach Brad Arthur reveals secret behind star Brodie Croft's outstanding form
Leeds Rhinos coach Brad Arthur says star stand-off Brodie Croft is making the most of a change in approach.
Croft’s touchdown in the 46-4 win against Catalans Dragons last week took him to 11 in eight Betfred Super League games this year. Only teammate Maika Sivo, with 14, has scored more tries in the competition.
“With Brodie, he is focused more on quality, not quantity,” Arthur said of the stand-off’s impressive start to the campaign. “Less is more with him, he is a really good instinct player.
“He has pulled back a bit at the start of games where he is just happy to let the game flow and let it build and focus on his kick-finishes and being physical. Then when it starts to open up his instincts and running game is very hard to defend against.
“I think he has got the balance in his game really well. Whereas maybe in the past he has tried too hard, because he always competes. He is reliable, you know exactly how he is going to turn up each week, but I think he is getting the balance right now.”
Arthur has also praised the way his forwards have handled being switched between the starting lineup and bench. Three of the substitutes against Catalans - Cooper Jenkins, Tom Holroyd and Jarrod O’Connor - had started the previous game, at Huddersfield Giants.
With no injuries to first-choice players, Arthur has decided against resting players, but has adopted a policy of “sharing the workload”. Jenkins came off the bench to storm over for a second half try, as well as setting up Croft’s score and the coach enthused: “That's the good thing, nobody has spat the dummy. Cooper started the last couple of weeks and hadn’t done anything wrong to be put back to the bench.
“It’s not a demotion, it's just doing the right thing by them. It is hard to do that as a starting middle week-in and week-out. We have got the luxury of having good middles so we are keeping them honest, sharing the workload.
“Cooper came on and played a different role and really provided an impact. He got 34 minutes straight in the second half and I could have left him there. He did a good job, he has good leg speed, good power and he carries the ball aggressively.”
Arthur is hopeful all last week’s squad will be available to face Wakefield Trinity at AMT Headingley on Friday, despite some bumps and bruises. He said: “Jake [Connor] got a bump on his knee, Mik [Oldezki] got a bump on his knee and Jake got a bump on his hip, but they get those. Touch wood, we are getting through okay at the moment."