LEEDS RHINOS ON THE UP, COACH'S BRAVE CALL, UNIQUE LACHIE MILLER, HANDS-OFF ASH: LATEST TALKING POINTS

Two wins in six days have breathed new life into Leeds Rhinos’ season and eased the pressure which was mounting on coach Rohan Smith and his players.

Leeds remain outside the play-offs places, but victories against Hull FC and London Broncos took them to 12 points from 10 rounds, one win better off than at this stage last year. The quality of the opposition has to be taken into account, but Rhinos’ performance in the 46-8 defeat of London was an improvement and some individuals have given Smith decisions to make ahead of Saturday’s tough game at Catalans Dragons. Here’s five talking points.

Brave call

It’s not easy dropping a high-profile, experienced overseas recruit in favour of a 19-year-old rookie, so Rohan Smith showed some steel by picking Jack Sinfield ahead of Matt Frawley against London Broncos. Frawley was poor in the previous game at Hull and Sinfield has been waiting for a chance. If he didn’t get picked in those circumstances, against the competition’s bottom team, he’d never get in.

Particularly considering he hadn’t played at the top level since last September, the youngster did a good job and stepped up when stand-off partner Brodie Croft went off. It’s now Frawley’s task to win back his place and having that competition in the squad can only be a good thing for Rhinos. However, it’ll be interesting to see what combination Smith goes with this week if Croft’s groin injury keeps him out of the Catalans trip. Sinfield and Frawley could pair up, but their styles are similar and the coach might want a runner in the number six role.

Miller time, again

Before he went off, Croft was proving far too good for London’s defence. Considering he had made the assist for almost half of Leeds’ tries this season, they did well to get over the line six times without him.

Cameron Smith moved to stand-off and another one who stepped up in good style was full-back Lachie Miller, providing the final pass for three of those touchdowns. Miller has been far from perfect so far in his Leeds career, but things tend to happen when he has the ball and if he’s on his game, he’s a genuine entertainer.

He is still settling in - to Rhinos, European conditions and regular top-grade rugby - but could become a real crowd favourite and one thing’s for sure, there isn’t another player like him in the English game.

Touching distance

Back-to-back wins against the bottom two have left Rhinos seventh in the Betfred Super League table just two points behind the joint-leaders - all six of them. Leeds visit two of the top sides, Catalans and St Helens, in successive games before another four against teams below them on the table, so the next few weeks will be pivotal to Rhinos’ season.

Read more: 'I'm feeling much happier' or 'we are miles off': Leeds Rhinos fans split after win v London Broncos

For all the angst over results in March and April, Rhinos are still in the top-four hunt in what is the tightest-ever Super League season. They can - and must - improve, but there’s still an opportunity to turn it into a positive campaign and for Rohan Smith to have the last laugh.

Riley unfortunate

If anything illustrated the highs and lows of sport it was what happened to Rhinos teenager Riley Lumb last week. The 19-year-old winger made his first team debut in the win at Hull FC and scored two tries in a man of the match performance. Then five days later, he made an impressive run with his first touch, pulled a hamstring and hobbled off with less than two minutes played.

It was a harsh blow for Lumb and Rhinos, who are dealing with an injury crisis in their three-quarters, but the 82 minutes of his top-flight career so far have been impressive and he will be back. If centre Harry Newman returns on Saturday, Luis Roberts will move back to the right-wing. If not, Alfie Edgell - who replaced Lumb against London - is likely to get the gig. He trained as a winger last week and would have started there had Ash Handley not fully recovered from his rib injury.

Hands off

It’s maybe not a coincidence Catalans’ alleged interest in Handley emerged this week, ahead of the sides’ meeting on Saturday. But Rhinos won’t be too concerned.

While any club in need of a winger would be foolish not to look at the Leeds man, their chances of getting him seem remote considering he is under contract for two seasons after this one. The 28-year-old proved his commitment to the cause by returning to the side against London, after missing only two games with a painful rib injury.

Handley, along with Rhyse Martin, is a player who doesn’t get the credit he deserves. He might not be as prolific as some wingers, though eight touchdowns in nine games this year is pretty good, but scores outstanding tries, rarely makes errors and his tough carries are central to what Rhinos do as a team.

2024-05-07T05:09:09Z dg43tfdfdgfd