“That’s rubbish” – Ex-Leeds player has his say on Rhinos’ worrying start to 2023

Leeds Rhinos’ 2023 season got off to the worst possible start on Thursday as they were well beaten by Warrington Wolves.

It was a worrying start for the Rhinos and a long way away from the way they finished the 2022 season.

Now though a former Leeds player in the shape of Matt Adamson has given his verdict speaking to Serious About Rugby League:

“It was a rough start on the weekend, being 30-0 down at half time. I’m sure Rohan will have been disappointed, as would the playing group.

“They’ll be wanting to repeat what they did last year, which was incredible. From where they were at when Rohan came across and turn the club around, he did a wonderful job and those young kids bought in.

“The culture of the club was rebuilt quickly, systems were put in place and the players followed those to make it easier. I’m sure if Rohan’s got all those things in place, from his pre-season training, then they’ll compete and hopefully look to try and get themselves back to a Grand Final this year.

“From how St Helens have started they’re obviously the favourites to win it again.”

Some fans have suggested that Leeds are trying to conserve energy for later in the season and that is why Rohan Smith didn’t really push pre-season as much as other clubs.

However, Adamson said that such a notion is “rubbish.”

“That’s rubbish, you go into every game to win and you approach every game one game at a time. First game of the season, no matter who it’s against, you go into it to win.

“That sort of mindset I don’t know who’s saying that but you perform to the highest standards every week, not just for yourself but for your teammates, your club, your coach and management and the fans.”