In 2022. Rohan Smith was appointed Leeds Rhinos Head Coach with the Rhinos second bottom.
He then oversaw a sensational turn around as the club reached an unlikely Grand Final.
Then last night he did what the great Ivan Cleary and his Penrith Panthers side failed to do and that was beat St Helens.
In the end it was a Blake Austin drop goal that settled the contest between the two Super League heavyweights.
It was a game that was full of controversial incidents with a red card to Konrad Hurrell giving Leeds the position to score from after Sam Walters hadn’t been punished for an alleged shoulder charge.
This led to Saints fans going to the touchline and showering Man of the Match Aidan Sezer and Smith with boos and screaming.
Smith spoke with the supporters but their passion ensured that the incident didn’t cool down.
But Smith did remain cool with Sky Sports’ Brian Carney described him as “the coolest man in the Totally Wicked Stadium.”
So, Smith has been impressive in more than a few areas as Leeds coach and now senior NRL journalist Brad Walters has claimed he is a future NRL coach.
He took to Twitter to say: “Rohan Smith speaks very well, discussing controversial incidents, brushing aside abuse from Saints fans and paying tribute to St Helens for WCC win, while praising his players. Surely he is a future NRL coach.
“Rohan did a great job last year to take Leeds to the grand final after arriving mid-season and they have just beat St Helens for the first time in five years.”
Rohan Smith speaks very well, discussing controversial incidents, brushing aside abuse from Saints fans and paying tribute to St Helens for WCC win, while praising his players. Surely he is a future NRL coach.
— Brad Walter (@BradWalterSport) March 3, 2023