What Leeds Rhinos must do next as Brad Arthur reacts to huge win

Leeds Rhinos managed to keep their playoff hopes alive by defeating Catalans Dragons at Headingley last night and head coach Brad Arthur has revealed what the club must do next if they’re to make the top six in Super League.

A loss at home to Catalans would have almost certainly ended any hopes of making the top six but with just four games to go, the Rhinos are now just two points behind the Dragons and the playoff positions.

It had looked like Leeds Rhinos were set to miss the playoffs for the second year running a few weeks ago but the drop off in form of the teams in fourth, fifth and sixth has seen them handed a chance and they ensured they capitalised on it last night as they beat a depleted Catalans 18-6.

After trailing 6-0 at the break, the Rhinos showed resilience to come back and win in an atmospheric Headingley and it’s a ground that Brad Arthur is coming to love, as he revealed on Sky Sports after the game.

On multiple occasions, the Australian came down from his coaching area to address the players and when asked about it, he explained: “I’m not used to being so close to the action. I love it and I just think it’s good sometimes I can eyeball the players and they have that bit of honesty and connection with them and give them a wrap if they’ve done the right thing or there’s something they need to improve for us.”

Leeds Rhinos must keep standards high

It certainly helped improve his side who put in a much-improved second-half performance to strangle the visitors in both possession and territory with the Rhinos, completing 13 more sets and forcing the Dragons into twice as many missed tackles.

Much of that win was built on effort, something that Arthur wants again next week when they face London Broncos, particularly given the team’s inability to win back-to-back games under his coaching.

Arthur stated: “What we’ve got to do is put it back-to-back efforts. We haven’t done that yet. So that’s the challenge for us this week and where that takes us, we’ll see. But at the moment we haven’t really talked about what’s to come at the end of the year. I need to see another performance like that.”

The Australian signed a 12-month extension to remain at Leeds Rhinos for 2025 and when asked about that, he explained it was an easy decision as he looked ahead to what the 2025 campaign will look like.

“I’ve been really happy with how everyone’s welcomed us with open arms and the players and the club and the people of this place have made me want to stay.

“We’ve got a big preseason coming up and the boys are buying in at the moment so we’ll see how they go in preseason. It’s going to be long and hard.”