Leeds' Indian Summer

There was a lot of excitement around Headingley before the season started. Leeds had signed the likes of Blake Austin, Aidan Sezer, David Fusitu'a and James Bentley and hopes were high of an improvement on 2021's fifth place finish and appearance in the play off semi finals.

Had you offered Leeds fans seventh place in the table and less than a 50% win record in February, their fans would have baulked at such suggestions. The aim was a Grand Final not a battle to merely reach the play offs. The nature of sport means that expectations and perceptions can change quickly. After a dismal start, optimism has returned.

Leeds had a tough start to the season, facing Warrington, Wigan and Catalans in the first three rounds. They battled bravely against Warrington but narrowly lost out despite playing most of the match with 12 men, thanks to James Bentley's red card. At this point of the year, little did we know that Warrington were a ramshackle basket case. A defeat, yes, but not a cause for alarm.

The alarm bells did start to ring by Easter, when Leeds had won one and drawn one of their first 10 matches. Those dark days of the post 'golden-generation' looked to loom large again. Richard Agar had resigned, citing an inability to take the team any further (a rare and worrying admission for any Head Coach, let alone an experienced one, to make). Jamie Jones-Buchanan took interim charge with (at best) small improvements seen.

Since new coach Rohan Smith has taken charge, a noticeable difference can be seen. He has won six out of 10 matches so far, an improvement on Leeds' pre-Smith record. However, there are some differences that you cannot see simply by looking at a league table.

In those six victories, Leeds have scored 24, 40, 62, 34, 42 and 36 points. By comparison, Leeds only scored 24+ points in a match twice before Smith arrived (one of those being a 25-14 home win over Toulouse).

Many fans rolled their eyes at the start of the season when Leeds fixtures were televised week-by-week. Ironically, Leeds have appeared on our TV screens less frequently in the summer months, just at the time that the club have started playing some very entertaining rugby.

It's not all rosy though. There are times that Leeds' defence has still appeared soft. And Leeds still do have problems caused by the recklessness of players such as Matt Prior and Zane Tetevano, whose discipline lets the side down with alarming frequency (though it must be said that James Bentley has markedly improved his discipline since Smith's arrival).

Ill-discipline was evident again in Leeds' stunning triumph over Catalans on Saturday. Matt Prior got sin binned on 41 minutes, then sent off on 56 minutes. Incredibly, Leeds still managed to overturn a 30-6 deficit, to win 32-36 in golden point, in one of Super League's greatest ever comebacks. This shows something else that Smith has instilled. Resilience.

Leeds still have a battle on to make the play offs, though despite being 7th, would be favourites to claim one of the two remaining spots. In a league where you can still have a shot at being champions despite being mediocre for large parts of the year, this offers hope for Leeds.

If they keep up their form and make the play offs, I doubt that the likes of Huddersfield or Catalans would wish to face them in the opening round. Rohan Smith will want to get to the play offs and cause a stir, but more realistically you sense that 2022 is merely laying the foundations for something greater in 2023.