Last year Jamie Jones-Buchanan got a chance at what would have been his childhood dream job when he had to take on the Leeds Rhinos coaching job.
It wasn’t in great circumstances as he had to replace Richard Agar as Leeds struggled.
In the end Rohan Smith took over and guided them all the way to the Grand Final as Buchanan returned back to his assistant coach position.
He said the remarkable turn around in form was all down to Smith.
“That was the difficulty when I had that interim coach period for six weeks, it was simultaneously the most exhilarating and fearful six weeks of my life. Having grown up as a fan and then a player you want the best for the club because of that influence we have on our community,” he said to Sky Sports.
“I knew there was potential in the squad, ultimately I could see there was development and if we get them talking to each other and get that team spirit back then they could go on a great journey.
“And Rohan Smith was outstanding, I didn’t have that technical or tactical ability to take them to a Grand Final like he did. I didn’t have the level of experience that he did and they’ve just got to build on that for this year.
“When Rohan’s dad, Brian, was coaching at Bradford in the 90’s I played a few games with Rohan. I went off on one path as a player, he went in another as a coach and he’s just exceptional. The depth of knowledge and the way he inspires the players is just exceptional. Each one of those players has developed and become a better version of themselves, now it’s about doing it together as a team which we’re looking forward to.”
