Zak Hardaker believes Leeds Rhinos can still make the Super League play-offs

It’s a bold statement, but it’s one that Zak Hardaker firmly believes in.

The new Leeds Rhinos signing made his second debut for the club against Salford Red Devils at the weekend in a 23-8 loss, but, having moved after leaving Wigan Warriors, Hardaker believes his new side still has what it takes to reach the play-offs.

“I really believe it’s possible,” Hardaker said.

“You could be maybe four or five wins off, need a few clubs at the top to lose a couple of games and you could be sixth and go from there.

“I had a little look at where we could finish and there’s no reason why we can’t come top six – I’ve won it from fifth so the experience is there.”

Meanwhile, new head coach Rohan Smith believes that positives can be taken from that defeat to Salford.

“I thought we defended well in the second half overall – it was a hard-fought second half,” Smith said.

“The return of a bunch of players that haven’t played for anywhere between a month and ten to 12 weeks.

“It was positive and credit to the performance staff that all of those guys got through big minutes and got through unscathed.”