The Brad Arthur era at Leeds Rhinos officially starts today, however, the Australian was alongside Chev Walker last night to witness his new club beaten by Warrington Wolves but there have been serious questions asked of the 50-year-old by pundit Sam Tomkins.
Arthur was sacked by Parramatta Eels after a decade at the club with the team’s form spiralling, something that has continued since his departure. When Leeds Rhinos sacked head coach Rohan Smith, Arthur’s name was at the top of the coaching candidates alongside Salford’s Paul Rowley.
It was reported that Arthur interviewed for the role almost immediately but talk of him heading up a new NRL venture in Perth put the brakes on discussions. That has now been worked around with the 50-year-old signing a deal at Headingley until the end of the season, however, pundit Sam Tomkins has claimed that the club still have “no chance” of making the top six as he even questioned Arthur’s Super League knowledge.
The ex-Wigan and Catalans man would argue that despite the quality of the squad, their top six ambitions were effectively null and void, citing the lack of cohesiveness and his belief that Brad Arthur doesn’t have the Super League know-how or the time to perform a turnaround.
That is in spite of the club being just two points shy of the top six currently.
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Leeds Rhinos won’t make the top six “no matter how good Brad Arthur is”
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Leeds Rhinos were blitzed in the opening five and final five of the first half last night, going in 24-4 down but having played well for the majority of the 40-minute period. They’d outscore their opponents Warrington in the second half but couldn’t do enough to secure the two points, leaving Brad Arthur with plenty to work on.
“I think they are underachieving massively given the quality in the squad,” said Tomkins, live on Sky Sports.
“They have got Ackers who is an international, a former Man of Steel in Brodie Croft, they got Ash Handley on the edge, Harry Newman, Cameron Smith is one of the best 13’s in the competition.
“That squad is underperforming. That’s given a squad that if you look at, when it was the start of the year, I said they were going to be in the top four.
“They have assembled a great group, they have just not performed on the field. I think they are underperforming, in terms of they have got quality players, they are just not doing their job.”
“They have got the squad to do it, but I just don’t think they can do it.”
On Arthur and his task specifically, the two-time Man of Steel winner said: “I don’t think they can get in the top six. I just think we have seen too many poor habits as a club and as a group.
“I don’t they they will be able to perform against any of the top sides. I just can’t see them getting there, getting to that top six, no matter how good Brad Arthur is. It’s too short of a window.
“Brad Arthur doesn’t know this team. He’s not been watching Super League the first half of this season. He won’t know half of his own squad. They have all got a blank slate.”
“Nowhere near Wigan, St Helens or Warrington” – Leeds pack slammed
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Whilst Tomkins recounted the quality that Leeds Rhinos have, he only mentioned two players in their forward pack. One being hooker Andy Ackers who has been demoted to the bench and the other being captain Cam Smith at loose forward, who has had a season far below his usual standards.
What is clearly lacking at Leeds is the presence of multiple tough prop forwards. Recent signings such as Mickael Goudemand and Justine Sangare have impressed at times but have been inconsistent, something that Sam Lisone epitomises. On his day, he can be the most devasting prop in Super League, however, his days are few and far between.
Pundit Jon Wilkin noted three times that Leeds Rhinos pale in comparison to in terms of their forward pack, Wigan, St Helens and Warrington, all of whom have seemingly built outwards from the middle with Leeds’ best forward last night ironically being a Wigan loanee in Sam Eseh.
Wilkin noted: “You want to look at Leeds and their shortcomings. Look at the forward pack. They are nowhere near Wigan, St Helens or Warrington in that regard.
“Brad Arthur has come in and he’s talking about energy, effort and physicality. They are just such basic things.
“Their lack of attention to detail will stop them getting into the play-offs. They are not a top team because they have a selfish style of play.”
