The style of play that Leeds Rhinos should adopt when they take on Hull KR at AMT Headingley tomorrow (Saturday) is made clear by new manager Brad Arthur.
While he is excited for the Rhinos to “play football,” the Australian also noted that they must establish a solid foundation, be “strong physically,” and start strong. In addition, he wants his team to attack the opposition when they don’t have the ball. This will appease supporters who have been miffed by the Rhinos’ supposedly passive defence this season.
After losing 12-0 in the first five minutes of the Rhinos’ 30-18 loss at Warrington Wolves eight days prior, Arthur was appointed last week and watched the game. Warrington had a similar run of play towards the end of the half, doubling their lead to 24-4 at the half. However, Leeds played a close match for the majority of the game, and Arthur was happy with the “fight” displayed in the second half.
“The game is very effort-based; you can’t win without effort, but you can’t also just rely on effort to win you games,” he stated, summarising his philosophy. Our squad will take great satisfaction in putting in a lot of work, competing for the jersey and one another.
He emphasised: “We need to be physically strong and ready to put our bodies on the line, go after the collision, and enjoy it. The game has to be played at a physical standard. You can’t have a soft approach to the game.” Then there’s the football component, where you need to manage the game in addition to using your skills and execution correctly.
“You have to have some kind of plan and something you are trying to achieve in the game; it’s not just going out there and saying ‘we’re going to play footy.'” The goal must be your pursuit, but along the way, you must achieve a great deal of little victories. You obtain the two points in this way.
The former Parramatta Eels manager’s top goal is to get Leeds to stop making mistakes—the team has committed more than any other team in the Betfred Super League. One of the team’s strengths, in his opinion, is that they really want to play football.
“It’s my responsibility to try and harness that a little bit now and make sure they know how to play that little bit of football they like to play when the time is right, build a platform, and start games better. That makes a big difference in [achieving] results.
“It’s about how we manage and build our game, and the start will be a part of it,” the speaker continued. After some work, I believe the boys now have a clear understanding of our preferred playing style and football philosophy. We need to put that into action right now. There will be pressure applied to us, and under that pressure, we’ve got to keep falling back to what we’ve talked about and what we need to do.”
Arthur signed a contract that is only good until the end of this season, so if the Rhinos miss out on the playoffs and he is not re-signed for next season, he might only be in charge of 10 games. They had a difficult final stretch ahead of them, with seven of their remaining games against teams higher up the ladder. They started round 18 in seventh place, four points outside the top six.
Five months ago, Hull KR defeated Leeds 22–12 on their home pitch, placing them in third place, six points ahead of the latter. Arthur praised his initial opponents, saying, “They are a good side and they are playing well.”
They play a lot of football and attempt to apply pressure, kick into the corners, and draw you out of the red zone. I’ve watched a little of them. They have a football spirit and wait for you to make a few mistakes.
“Your line needs to remain up and straight because they are going to test you, but these are all things we’ve already discussed as a team and we need to get better at. We must abandon our defensive position and pursue collisions, rather than standing by and allowing teams to run into us.
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