Ex-Leeds Rhinos boss Rohan Smith lands new role down under

Ex-Leeds Rhinos head coach Rohan Smith has stepped back into coaching.

Smith left Headingley in June and he now returned to his previous club, Brisbane-based Norths Devils. The Australian coached Norths from 2018 until being hired by the Rhinos in April 2022.

Norths won the Queensland Cup Grand Final under Smith in 2021 and achieved their second successive Premiership this season before going on to win the State Championship last weekend. Smith, who replaces Dave Elliott, will officially begin his new job on November 1.

Devils chief executive Troy Rovelli told the club’s website: “Rohan Smith returns to our club as we build on the benchmarks set within this club over recent years. Rohan is simply an outstanding coach who understands our club and specialises in identifying and developing talent.

“He oversaw a squad in 2021 without any NRL-contracted players that went on to win the Premiership and lost just two matches during the season. We have been fortunate to watch 15 of our players go from Devils contracts to full-time contracts in the last four years and the culture created by Rohan has played a significant role in that.”

Smith added: “I very much enjoyed my five seasons at Norths which produced many friendships and very positive memories for me and my family. We’re very much looking forward to coming back to a club that has such a strong history and plays such an important role in its community. The future of the Devils continues to be positive and we look forward to the next steps.”

Smith spent two seasons with Leeds Rhinos and led the club to the Grand Final in 2022 after making a remarkable start to life in West Yorkshire. However, he couldn’t build on it with the Rhinos finishing 8th in 2023 before Smith was eventually replaced by Brad Arthur this year.

The Rhinos this week signed front-rower Cooper Jenkins from Devils on a two-year contract.