What Leeds Rhinos fans learned from Brad Arthur’s debut: substance over style and surprising players key
Brad Arthur’s words all week could not have been more definitive and anyone who’d heard them would not have been surprised about what Leeds Rhinos produced on Saturday.
Often, it can take a while for a new coach’s philosophies to seep through into the public perception but when there is such a change in approach from one man to the next – as has been the case at Leeds – it’s obvious somewhat quicker what is trying to happen in front of our eyes.
Arthur had reiterated his buzzwords all week long. Structure. Defensive resilience. Effort alone not being enough. And most tellingly – a subtle nod to his predecessor, perhaps – how playing ‘touch footy’ isn’t going to be doing anyone any good under his watch.
There was plenty to learn from his first outing as head coach on Saturday afternoon. While the result was ultimately a disappointing one, we were able to get a good look into what we can expect from the Australian’s approach and style.
The first and most obvious thing about the way Arthur likes his teams to play is building from a base of defensive structure. That involves completing at a high rate when it comes to set percentage, and ensuring Leeds get to the ends of sets more often to allow them to increase pressure on their opponents.
The Rhinos completed at 85 per cent on Saturday afternoon: the previous week at Warrington, that number was 74 per cent; in Rohan Smith’s last game in charge, it was as low as 72 per cent. It has dipped to as low as 64 per cent in games throughout 2024. Leeds were wild in attack and when it worked, it was effective. When it didn’t, it was disastrous.
Arthur reiterated pre-match how too often this season, Leeds have been chasing games from the early exchanges. That was evident last week at Warrington, when they were 12-0 down in double-quick time. But on Saturday, they parked their wild attacking inhibitions and focussed on structure and being more resilient.
It worked, too – with Leeds ahead 6-0 at half-time on merit having edged a fair chunk of the play against a Rovers side with genuine Grand Final aspirations.
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And a key component of everything Leeds did well? Scrum-half Matt Frawley. In truth, although he himself would admit he has not been at his best since arriving at the Rhinos, Frawley has felt largely inhibited in the way Leeds went about their business for most of 2024.
The message under Smith was clear: express yourselves, and try and play eye-catching, attractive rugby. Often, that involved everything going through Brodie Croft: which is no bad thing when Croft is playing well, but it reduces Frawley to the role of passenger.
But in a side geared towards set completion and winning territorial battles, Frawley is able to display the things he is good at much more. He is a fine kicker of the ball and with the balance of play between both halves more equal on Saturday, Frawley was able to take the line on a little bit more, too. He will be a player Arthur will look to build his ethos around in the coming weeks.
So too will Jarrod O’Connor. With defensive structures and patient attack the order of the day under the Australian, O’Connor’s influence in the middle of the park will be absolutely essential. Don’t be surprised to see Arthur even rotate his hookers and O’Connor starting games, with Ackers coming on when games are more punctured and open.
There are familiar errors still in the Rhinos’ game. Too often they make crucial mistakes at crucial moments; within a minute, David Fusitu’a had a chance to make it 10-0 before Ryan Hall went up the other end and scored.
Arthur will also have to find a way to get the best of quota players like Lachie Miller and Paul Momirovski who are yet to fully fire in a blue and amber shirt. He will demand consistency from his backline in particular as he seeks to put his stamp and his ethos on the club.
But after just 80 minutes, it is already clear to see what Arthur is trying to do. To the neutrals, Leeds have been one of Super League’s most interesting teams to watch in 2024 because their wildly open attacking brand of rugby produces either effective results, or disastrous consequences.
Arthur will not stand for that. Whisper it quietly, but he will want to make Leeds more boring – or more methodical, if you will. If he does that, they may yet still have a chance at the six.
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