“Off-field issues” – Rohan Smith assesses first two years at Leeds Rhinos and explains failings of 2023

It’s the two-year anniversary of Leeds Rhinos head coach Rohan Smith’s appointment later this week, and he has revealed how he has assessed the first two years.

Smith has been under pressure after a disappointing start to 2024 at Headingley, with many, such as former player Blake Austin, questioning his tactics and signings for the Rhinos.

After his uncle, Tony Smith, became the first Super League coach to be dismissed in 2024, there have been suggestions that Rohan Smith could be the next to go.

Speaking to the press, Smith reflected on his time in the role: “There’s a lot still to do, but I think there’s a lot of gains that have been made.

“We’ve accomplished quite a bit in some respect. The 2022 run that we went on was something that I haven’t reflected on a lot, but I probably will at some stage about how special that was.”

The Rhinos finished fifth in the league in 2022, making the playoffs, clinching their post-season berth with a 14-8 victory over Castleford Tigers in a must-win fixture.

They did it the hard way, having to make up ground – but did so in style, winning 9 of their final 11 league games, including wins over Wigan Warriors and Catalans Dragons.

Smith continued: “In the meantime, last year we had a lot of stuff to deal with off the field and behind the scenes particularly.

“We actually did a pretty good job to be in the picture given the amount of stuff that was going on. We did a reasonable job to be in contention all the way up to a few weeks ago in the season.

“Whilst the bar was aiming much higher, we actually accomplished quite a bit among the younger players and the emerging players in our group.

“Certainly, from a staffing and a process point of view in behind the scenes at Kirkstall, we accomplished a lot there last year with the development of our academy and our players coming through the system.”

The side finished eighth in the league in 2023, missing out on the playoffs.

Blake Austin, Kruise Leeming and Nene Macdonald all left midway through the season, meaning consistency was hard to come by.

They suffered a 61-0 defeat to Catalans – a record in the summer era.

However, young, rising talents, such as Jack Sinfield and Corey Johnson, showed promising signs.

Looking forward to the rest of this season, however, Smith said: “Now it’s a matter of getting our season just turning the right way this year.

“We’ve played some really good stuff this year, not quite enough of it, but we’re probably one win away from where I’d hope to be in the league at this point.

“So we’re not too far away and we’ve challenged some really good opposition.

“We’ve had a lot of tough games and we feel like we’re hardened to use this break to come in fresh and with some good work under our belt, ready to get this next little block of games started.”

Leeds Rhinos face Huddersfield Giants at Headingley on Friday 19 April at 8pm.