Leeds captain Kruise Leeming ‘overwhelmed’ by Rhinos faith
Kruise Leeming says he is overwhelmed by the faith Leeds Rhinos have shown in him by giving him the captaincy this season.
The 26-year-old joined the Rhinos from Huddersfield ahead of the 2020 season. He didn’t get off to the best of starts at Headingley though. He suffered a knee injury which ruled him out for six months.
However, Leeming soon proved his worth as he helped the Rhinos lift the Challenge Cup in 2020.
And now Rhinos coach Richard Agar has handed Leeming the captaincy role for this season.
Leeming told Love Rugby League: “It’s overwhelming to be honest.
“The faith the fans, the city, the coaching staff and the players have put in me has been overwhelming since I’ve come to this club.
“I did my knee and was out for six to eight months without even playing a game. For them to renew my contract without even watching me play… We won the Challenge Cup and now I’ve been made captain in such a short period of time which shows the faith they’ve put in me.
“For me, it is just about upholding my end of the bargain and making sure I play really well and lead this team as well as I can do.”
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Rugby league will be shown on six different platforms in 2020 – Sky Sports, Channel 4, BBC, The Sportsman, Our League and Premier Sports.
There will be more than 80 games shown live on TV this season, and Leeming believes it is a big opportunity to showcase the sport to more people.
He added: “I think I’ve seen somewhere that there are more than 80 rugby league games being televised this year. It is fantastic for our sport.
“All we need to do is do it justice. I don’t even think there is much we need to do. I think we just need to go out there and play the game. The product is there. There are loads of my mates who bring their parents sometimes and they are like ‘wow, I can’t believe it is that good’.”
Leeds fell short to a 22-20 defeat to Warrington in their opening game of the season last Saturday. The Rhinos will aim to return to winning ways on Friday night with a tough trip to Wigan.
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