Last night the news broke that Kruise Leeming was set to leave Leeds Rhinos.
There is now talk of him going to the NRL and potentially the North Queensland Cowboys.
Now a man who has worked closely with the former Leeds skipper as assistant at Leeds as well as Interim Head Coach Jamie Jones-Buchanan has said he is devastated by the news:
“I’m a bit upset and devastated. I like Kruise, he is a good worker, he has an honesty about his game,” the Leeds legend said on Sky Sports.
“He is very reflective and a good character but if he has found a different opportunity then I wish him all the best.”
Meanwhile, he went onto explain why Leeming perhaps doesn’t fit Rohan Smith’s style:
“When you have halfbacks like Austin and Sezer you want them with the ball in their hands and when you talk about playing direct you want them stepping off their inside and going back where the ball came from.
“You’re playing up against forwards around the ruck and standing them up.
“Rohan is a big believer in that halfbacks running is a good thing and good things happen and if halfbacks are getting tackled a lot opportunities present themselves.
“We have seen the fruits of that in the last few things.”
Barrie McDermott would add:
“Jarrod does what he is told and that is a strength in that triangle. He also leads the linewell. When it comes to making decisions about who should get the ball, nine times out ten he is making the right decision for the team.
“Kruise has a rugby player’s brain and he thinks his way through.”
