Rohan Smith one month review

It has been a mixed first month as a first grade head coach for Rohan Smith as he has begun with 2 wins and 2 losses. In attack the team looks to have made great leaps forward while at the same time they are still displaying the same defensive frailties that have plagued the team all season.

If Smith thought things would be easy after taking over a side with two wins on the bounce, he was brought back down to earth with a heavy loss against an out of form Salford side. He quickly bounced back with a home win at his first attempt with a comfortable 24-6 win over fellow strugglers Wakefield before Leeds put in perhaps their best game of the season as they hammered an out of form Warrington side 40-4 at the Halliwell Jones stadium. After such a high there was disappointment last time out when Leeds were beaten on their travels 30-16 against Huddersfield.

The biggest difference we have seen in the first month under Smith is the improvement in attack. It’s only a small sample size but in the first 4 games under him Leeds are scoring 19.5 points per game (PPG) compared to 14.6 ppg under Agar/Jones-Buchanan. Although Smith has been helped by the return of Richie Myler and the acquisition of Zak Hardaker to bolster his attacking options, the most notable difference has been a change in mentality across the team. Whether it be the forwards or backs, there has been a notable increase in intensity with players pushing up in attack and making themself an option to the ball carrier. We saw this in action against Wakefield with both of James Bentley’s tries coming from him being in the right place at the right moment due to his willingness to be a support runner.

The aforementioned Hardaker and Myler have also brought a level of creativity to an attack that has been sorely missing it for so long. This was no more evident than in two pieces of play against Warrington. First of all the set play around the ruck that saw Richie Myler palm the ball back inside to Hardaker who broke the line and found Leeming backing up to score. Later in the game we also saw Myler create a try from a scrum by cleverley making himself the extra man on the short side and creating an overlap.  Having a settled halfback combination of Myler and Austin has also allowed Kruise Leeming to return to his natural position and influence the game from hooker. 

Among the forwards I have also been impressed by Cameron Smith’s performances over the last month. He started to show it near the start of the season but over these last 4 games he has shown that he has an excellent short passing game with his try assist against Wakefield and could become the link man in the middle of the park. Not only will this allow more nuanced attack in the forwards but it will also allow Leeds to play with more width as there is no need for a halfback to come in at first receiver. The best team in the world, the Penrith Panthers, have Isiah Yeo doing this job and we can see how successful it has been.

On the other side of the ball in defence we are still seeing a lot of the deficiencies that have plagued the Rhinos all season. Throughout all 4 matches Leeds are clearly using a passive defensive system that isn’t reliant on quick line speed. Although this was effective in the two wins, it was exploited far too easily by Salford and Huddersfield in defeat. Both these teams play fast attacking rugby that are perfect for taking advantage of a slow defensive line. On a number of occasions there was a clear disconnect between the Leeds edge defenders which allowed the opposition to break the line.

Looking ahead to the rest of the season it is clear that we can only really judge Rohan Smith at the end of the season. So far there are definitely more positives than negatives from his first month of coaching. As he has inherited a squad built in the image of a different man it will be essential that he quickly identifies which players he wants to keep and who he sees as surplus to requirements. In my opinion the most important player for the club to re-sign is Rhyse Martin. Since his transfer to the club he has been, alongside Kruise Leeming, our most impressive player. His tireless work in defence and attack,as well as his metronomic goal kicking,  are so important to the success of the club. 

Rohan Smith’s next game will be his toughest test so far as he travels to the Totally wicked stadium to take on league leaders St Helens. Any defensive frailties in Smith's side will be severely tested against this all conquering saints side. Beyond this game, Leeds face three very winnable away games against Hull FC, Castleford and Toulouse which will perhaps be a better indicator of the teams current level.

Thank you for reading and remember All Leeds aren’t we.