2020 Review: Leeds Rhinos

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Our 2020 Super League review series today looks at Leeds, with Andrew Ferguson taking apart their campaign as they reached the top echelons of the table once more.

After two below-standard seasons for the successful Leeds outfit, where they ran 9th in 2018 and 8th in 2019, programming returned to normal in 2020 as the Rhinos camped themselves in the top 4 for the majority of the season.

They won the Challenge Cup in a nail biting victory over Salford, 17-16, but their form from that point on became inconsistent and ultimately ended their Premiership hopes early.

Overall though, it was a better season than the previous two - with the club back at the top end of the table.

Turning Point

Round 14 v Catalans. With Leeds having won 7 of their 10 Super League games, they went into their match against Catalans fielding a team made up largely of rookies, so as to rest their stars for the upcoming Challenge Cup Semi Final against Wigan (which they won). The Dragons beat Leeds 34-6. Leeds again rested their stars prior to the Challenge Cup Final and again lost, this time 32-6 to Warrington. After winning the Challenge Cup, Leeds failed to win back-to-back games for the rest of the season, eventually losing their semi-final 14-26 to Catalans.

What Worked

Ash Handley. The Rhinos Winger bagged 19 tries in 18 games in 2020, 14 in the Super League, which was more than any other player. His prolific ability to cross the stripe meant the Rhinos would often target his side of the field and would regularly be rewarded with points.

What Didn't Work

Player Rotation. While its commonplace in the Super League, especially when resting players for upcoming big games, it can sometimes bring about inconsistency and that is exactly what happened to Leeds in 2020. They lost 3 games when resting their stars and it hampered their chances of building momentum leading into the finals, culminating in a 26-14 loss to Catalans in the Semi-Final, ending their season.

Best Player

Konrad Hurrell and Ash Handley formed a lethal edge combination in 2020 which produced 12 tries in the 10 games that they played together in 2020 and 25 tries between the two of them for the year.

Rookies

6 players made their Super League debuts with the Rhinos in 2020. Loui McConnell played just the 1 game. Corey Hall, Winger Liam Tindall and scrum half Jack Broadbent all played 3 games each while hooker Jarrod O'Connor and back rower Sam Walters both played 4 matches.

Looking Ahead

Leeds have let a few players go, seemingly to free up space for some juniors and to build up some capital in order to buy some prominent players down the line. Adam Cuthbertson's 6 years at the club has come to an end as he moves to York, Muizz Mustapha who was on loan, will return to Hull KR while Rhys Evans (Bradford) and Wellington Albert (Keighley) are both departing the club.

The Rhinos have yet to make any singings for 2021. Given their improved performance in 2020, they look set to remain at the top end of the ladder again for next year.

2020 results