It is now more than one week since Rohan Smith left his position with the Leeds Rhinos. Smith departed following a poor run of performances which had left the Rhinos struggling to keep pace with the top six in Super League.
Since the news of Smith’s departures, there have been two names on everyone’s lips. Current Salford Red Devils boss, Paul Rowley, has been discussed since before the news of Smith’s exit was announced, giving his close working relationship with Leeds’ Sporting Director, Ian Blease.
The second name making the running in the early race to replace Smith is former Parramatta Eels boss, Brad Arthur. Leeds were reported to have met with Arthur last Friday to discuss a potential move. However, since then, there has been no update on whether Arthur remains in the running.
Reports did suggest Arthur had met a delegation from the mooted new Perth based NRL franchise, and there have tentative suggestions that Arthur had met with the management of another NRL club. Now, reports in Australia have quashed one of those rumours.
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Boost for Leeds Rhinos as Brad Arthur rumours denied
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It was suggested in Australia that Brad Arthur had met with the management of the Manly Sea Eagles, to hold initial discussions over the possibility of replacing Anthony Seibold. Seibold is facing early questions over his position, with the Sea Eagles sitting in 11th place in the NRL table.
However, according to a report in the Daily Telegraph, the rumours were started by a simple case of mistaken identity. Arthur had not been meeting Manly Chief Executive, Tony Mestrov, but instead had met Western Australian minister, Peter Tinley. The Daily Telegraph reports:
“Arthur did have a meeting on Monday. However it wasn’t with Mestrov. Instead it was with a Western Australian minister – Peter Tinley – who is in town and has spent the past few days picking the brains of a host of people involved in rugby league.
“Arthur was happy to catch up and explain what it takes to run an elite footballing program with Arthur having an eye on potentially taking control of the new Perth side.
“Sea Eagles coach Seibold has 12 months left on his deal and is under no pressure at the moment to keep his job. However, talks of an extension have been put on hold for now.”
The news represents a boost for the Leeds Rhinos, as they seemingly face competition to attract Arthur to the club. Arthur is well respected coach in the NRL, having regularly guided the Eels into the NRL playoff semi-finals, having been perennial strugglers when Arthur took over as head coach.
