Red hot in June, Sivo again, Connor's class and unanswered questions: latest Leeds Rhinos talking points

Ten wins from their last 11 games has opened a two-point lead at the top of Betfred Super League and while some coaches are struggling for troops, Brad Arthur is having to make tough decisions on who to leave out. Here’s five talking points ahead of Sunday’s derby against Bradford Bulls at Everton FC’s Hill Dickinson Stadium.

1: Red hot in June. The midway point of the year always looked like being a defining month in Rhinos’ season, with games against top-six sides St Helens, Warrington Wolves and Hull KR, as well as a challenging trip to Toulouse. Coming through it with maximum points is a good achievement and Leeds now have to be taken seriously as title contenders.

After 16 rounds they have, by far, the best attack and the joint-meanest defence, the squad is almost fully-fit and several individuals are performing out of their skin. Leeds remain unbeaten at home, away form has improved and on top of all that, Arthur signed a new contract, so everything in the garden looks rosy.

These are exciting times after almost 10 years of stagnation. Most importantly, Rhinos are playing a good brand of rugby and fans can look forward to attending games again, rather than it being a chore.

2: Things to prove. That said, there’s still a long way to go with 11 rounds remaining in the regular season and things can change quickly. Despite their impressive form this year and obvious improvements, Leeds still have questions to answer.

More than half way through the year they have had knocks here and there, but largely remain healthy. That’s credit to everyone involved, but how will Arthur’s side cope if injuries do strike?

The squad hasn’t been tested yet so that’s an unknown, as is Rhinos’ ability to cope when the pressure is really on. The recent wins against Saints, Warrington and Hull KR were a step in the right direction, but Leeds haven’t won any knockout game against top-flight opposition since the 2022 Super League semi-final and that’s the biggest question mark around their title hopes.

3: Who can beat Rhinos? Leeds are now beginning a block of five games against teams outside the play-off places, which represents a different sort of test. Even when they were Super League’s dominant team, Rhinos had a habit of coming unstuck against sides at the foot of the table, but they seem to have developed a new, tougher mindset under Arthur and that will be needed to ensure standards don’t slip.

Though the next few weeks are an opportunity to strengthen Leeds’ hold on top spot, they are the club everyone else wants to beat and that brings its own pressure. Another five wins would make it 10 in succession and that’s incredibly difficult in the modern game, but at the moment only two teams look capable of beating Rhinos - Wigan Warriors and themselves.

4: Sivo, again. Winger Maika Sivo’s brace of tries in last week’s 34-8 defeat of Hull KR equalled Paul Sterling’s club record of touching down in nine successive Super League games, set in 1997. Sterling’s hot streak stretched over 10 matches in all, including a World Club Championship tie, which is the best sequence by a Leeds player in the summer era.

Bradford were the last team the Fijian phenomenon failed to score against so it’s far from a foregone conclusion Sivo will break one record and equal another on Sunday, but he is now on 27 Super League tries and 29 in total and fans go into games wondering not will he score, but how many?

Remarkably, some opposition fans remain unconvinced. Sivo does get caught out defensively at times and hasn’t scored the sort of long-range tries Sterling was known for, but Rhinos signed him to get across the opposition’s line and at the moment, nobody does that better.

5: The two Jakes. Of course, playing outside a scrum-half as good as Jake Connor - and a centre like Ash Handley - helps. Connor is one of those individuals who’d rather set up a try for a teammate than score himself and he is playing better now than he did last year, when he was crowned Man of Steel.

Arthur said a few weeks ago he’s sorry he didn’t get to coach Connor when the half-back was in his mid-20s, but the impact Leeds’ boss has had on the 31-year-old is startling. Connor - who is still relatively new to the role as a controlling scrum-half - is a different player to the one released by Huddersfield Giants at the end of 2024 and last week’s game showed that.

The old Jake might have lost his head after being gouged by Tevita Pangai Jr, but the new version shook himself off, booted the resulting penalty and went on to have an outstanding match. There’s still a pantomime villain element to him, but he is so good to watch.