Australian journalist believes Leeds Rhinos boss Rohan Smith could be offered NRL job in near future

If there is one head coach that could perhaps feel aggrieved not to have been included in the Super League Coach of the Year shortlist then it is Leeds Rhinos boss Rohan Smith.

After taking over in May from interim coach Jamie Jones-Buchanan following the departure of Richard Agar, Smith has worked wonders at Headingley since his arrival.

13 wins from 17 games has made the rest of Super League sit up and take note – as well as the rest of the world.

In fact, Smith’s stock has risen so much that one Australian journalist believes that it won’t be too long until he picks up an NRL job.

The Daily Telegraph writer Brent Read wrote: “The son of a legendary Parramatta mentor is fast building a reputation as a coaching guru — and could be in the frame for NRL jobs sooner rather than later.”

Read went on to write: “The next great NRL coach may not necessarily be under our nose. More than 16,000 kilometres away from the game’s heartland, Rohan Smith is closing the gap on the likes of Jason Ryles, Dean Young, Josh Hannay and Ben Hornby.”

Smith, of course, comes from tremendous coaching stock with his father Brian carving out a reputation for himself as one of the most talented coaches ever whilst his uncle Tony has been one of Super League’s most decorated bosses in the past two decades.

Now, it seems as though Rohan is etching a name for himself in Leeds folklore just months after making his way through the doors at Headingley.