Super League focus XXIII: Leeds Rhinos
Tuesday 30 January 2018 15:37, UK
With eight Grand Finals under their belt, will Leeds be able to defend their title in 2018 without Rob Burrow and Danny McGuire?
Captain: Kallum Watkins
Coach: Brian McDermott
2017 Position - Regular season - 2nd. Grand Final winners.
Key player - Matt Parcell
What a difference the Australian made to Leeds in 2017. Solving the hooking problem, Parcell came in from the Manly Sea Eagles and made an immediate impression. Sensational in both attack and defence, Parcell actually topped the club's try scoring charts with 17, whilst providing 16 try assists. He was also the Rhinos' only player to notch up over 1000 tackles too. Parcell formed an important partnership with Adam Cuthbertson, developing an immediate understanding with his fellow Australian's offloading game, helping Leeds produce a different strand to their attacking style. He was inevitably linked with an NRL return this winter, yet Parcell has stayed at Headingley. Will he produce the same quality in 2018?
Fresh face - Richie Myler
There is a difficult task facing Richie Myler in 2018. Not only is he returning from the south of France and that testing season battling relegation with Catalans Dragons, but he is replacing the irreplaceable in the halves in club legends Danny McGuire and Rob Burrow. Myler has the organisational game to suit the Rhinos, having provided 17 try assists last season in a struggling Catalans side. He will partner Joel Moon in the halves, and that combination should provide the ideal amount of flair and solidity. Myler has won trophies with Warrington, but the Grand Final always eluded him and his Wolves team-mates. Will he get the chance to win it with the Rhinos?
One to watch - Jack Walker
It was a funny old season for 18-year-old Jack Walker. He found himself on the verge of leaving Headingley after turning down a new contract, having struggled to oust fellow rookie Ashton Golding from the full-back slot. But Walker then had a change of heart and signed a new three-year deal in August. He then won the battle for the number one slot over Golding and started for the Rhinos in the Grand Final. And despite the wet and windy conditions on that Manchester night, Walker excelled, and looked like a veteran, rather than a teenager with just eight Super League appearances under his belt. Will he start the season as first choice?
Reasons for optimism
Yet again, 2017 proved you can never write the Rhinos off. Despite finishing second in the regular season, there was a sense Leeds never quite found their best form throughout the campaign and they were well behind Castleford going into the semi-finals. But once more, Brian McDermott's side channelled a spirit rarely seen outside Headingley, and the nail-biting win over Hull FC was followed by a display of expert game management against Castleford in the showpiece event. All the critics from 2016 were answered and now Leeds can look forward to a trip Down Under to face NRL champions Melbourne Storm. Rule out the Rhinos at your peril.
Reasons for concern
Leeds spent the whole of 2016 reeling from the loss of club legend and captain Kevin Sinfield, the inspirational Jamie Peacock and overseas stalwart Kyle Leuluai. Will 2018 prove to be the same without Danny McGuire and Rob Burrow? The time felt right for Burrow to retire, with his role diminishing at Headingley, while McGuire may have proved he had a little more left in the tank with his display at Old Trafford. Only Jamie Jones-Buchanan now remains from the class of 2004 that formed the fulcrum of Leeds' golden generation. How long will it take the Rhinos to build another dynasty like that?
