He’s one of those players that rugby league fans love to hate but there’s no doubt that Jake Connor is a talent. That’s why he signed a two-year deal to join the Leeds Rhinos back in October.
Speaking on The Bench podcast, Leeds Rhinos’ head coach Brad Arthur opened up about Connor’s pre-season and where he sees him fitting into his plans for 2025.
Connor made the move from Huddersfield to Leeds in the off-season and Arthur is excited about the prospect of moulding him into the player that he needs.
Arthur said: “There’s not a lot of the footy that I need to worry about with him or teach him, he understands the game very well.
“It’s just him understanding what the rest of his teammates are going to value out of him more in his game around his effort areas, his physicality and how he fits in and plays with the team and not on his own.”
That led Arthur to meet with Connor regularly to discuss where he was at in pre-season.
Arthur continued: “I’ve had some real tough conversations with him.
“In week one, I told him I don’t think you’re fit enough and I don’t think you’re going to be in the team week 1.
“At Christmas time, I said ‘You’ve improved but I still don’t think you’re there yet’ and to his credit, he’s worked hard.”
Connor has had discussions not only with his coach but also with the players around him as he learns the ropes at a new club that has big expectations for him and the team in 2025.
“At the time, the boys were seeing a lot of good things and then they’d seen some things they weren’t happy about. They’ve had conversations with him,” Arthur said.
“His ability to just accept it for what it is and go ‘everyone’s just trying to make me better’. I hope for his sake that he has a good year.”
Despite the honesty, Arthur remains confident that he can bring the best out of the 30-year-old and see his full potential during the 2025 campaign.
The head coach said: “I think it’s his chance to get the best out of himself because there’s a very good player there who’s probably underachieved the whole way through his career.
I think he’s enjoying being on a team where he doesn’t feel like he has to do everything as well. There’s not the weight of the world on his shoulders so I think that’ll help him.”
Leeds’ fans are already impressed by Connor’s pre-season as he scored 32 points on debut in their third round Challenge Cup 92-0 win over Wests Warriors.
With an injury to regular fullback Lachie Miller, it looks like Connor will be filling in for the next couple of weeks.
He’s expected to retain the position for Leeds’ first Super League game against Wakefield on Saturday.
