Mikolaj Oledzki reveals 'next step' for Leeds Rhinos, makes pack point ahead of Warrington Wolves

Last weekend’s 12-10 result against champions Wigan Warriors was Rhinos’ third win from their opening five Betfred Super League games and they are sixth in the table. Having passed a test against Wigan, Oledzki admits they face another huge challenge on Friday at Warrington Wolves, who are one place behind Rhinos on points difference.

Leeds made a similar start last year, but lacked consistency - managing three consecutive wins just once all season - and Oledzki admitted the challenge now is to prove the victory and performance against Wigan weren’t a flash in the pan. “Great teams can back it up,” the front-rower stressed.

“Our standards are very high and that’s the next step for us. We’ve been playing well for periods of games, but I think it was 80 minutes [last week] and we need another 80 minutes this week and another 80 minutes the week after.

“We can build momentum on the back of that, but we can only go a week at a time. It was a great performance against Wigan and we’ll look back at it and see what we can improve. There’s always areas to improve on and we go again this week.”

Rhinos had to dig deep against Wigan, hitting back from 10-6 behind to win the game thanks to Jake Connor’s conversion of a try by Jack Sinfield 13 minutes from time. “The best part about the game and the win was it needed a bit of grit and determination to get over the line,” Oledzki reflected. “It wasn’t an easy game and I feel like it was a tough, gritty win. As a team you need those games and tests to see where you’re at. It was a good test for us and we’re really happy with how it went.”

Effort hasn’t been lacking in the games Leeds have lost this year, but they showed more patience and composure against the defending champions and, crucially Oledzki reckons, they stayed focussed throughout. He said: “The last few weeks we have been playing well for 60–70 minutes and it is 10-15-minute periods in the games where we’ve let ourselves down. I know it’s a bit of a cliche, but we’ve kind of lost the games ourselves - it’s not that teams are turning us over, we are kind of shooting ourselves in the foot. But [last Saturday] was a great performance and from one to 17, all the boys really dug in.”

Oledzki was Sky Sports’ and Rhinos’ official man of the match in the win over Wigan and his performance - along with the rest of the pack’s - was praised by coach Brad Arthur in his post-game press conference. Oledzki, who was Rhinos’ player of the year in 2021 and 2022 has admitted he was disappointed with the way he performed last season and insisted: “I am just trying to enjoy myself and play with a smile on my face.”

He said: “This year, we’ve got a great team, our pack is full of great quality players and I am very fortunate to get to play with these boys every week. I love coming to training every day and spending time with these boys.

“I feel like we are getting better and better as a pack; as a middle I feel like we are going well and all the credit goes to the boys for ripping in every week. Even when the results haven’t gone our way, we keep turning up and grinding away. Champion teams do that every week and that’s what we are striving to be.”