Leeds Rhinos head coach Brad Arthur has admitted that he doesn’t know too much about Super League – but insists this isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
Arthur has never played or coached in the UK before.
He has extensive head coaching experience, taking charge of the Parramatta Eels over 250 times across 12 seasons in NRL, but the move to the Northern Hemisphere is one he hasn’t made previous to this move to Leeds.
He has also held roles with Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles, Melbourne Storm, Cairns Brothers and Batesman Bay Tigers in Australia.
Now, he’s tasked with the tricky job of achieving a top-six finish with Leeds in Super League – and, therefore, a place in the playoffs.
Asked how good his knowledge of Super League was in his first official pre-match press conference as head coach of Leeds Rhinos, he said: “Probably not as good as you guys, but I’m seeing that as a bit of an advantage too, because I don’t really need to worry about fixing or improving the other teams, I’ve got to worry about my own team.”
Why Brad Arthur’s lack of Super League knowledge is a positive for Leeds Rhinos
Credit: Imago Images
He continued, detailing the reasons that his lack of knowledge may be a good thing.
He said: “I need to know more about them and what it’s forcing me to do is to really focus on what our game looks like and when we pull on a Leeds Rhino jersey what style of footy we play.
“By the end of the 10 weeks I want that to be real distinct to everyone that watches us and we shouldn’t be identified or determined by our colours, it should be the style of footy we play.
“It (gaps in Super League knowledge) is forcing me to put more focus and attention on the guys that actually need it and the club that needs it, which is us.
“There are some quality players in this team, if we can play some better football, well then teams will have to worry about trying to beat us instead of us worrying about us beating ourselves.”
His first game in charge will be againsy Hull KR at Headingley, at 3pm on Saturday.
