BRAD ARTHUR has admitted that the Super League competition has taken him by surprise by how high level it is.
The former Parramatta Eels head coach joined the Leeds Rhinos on a deal until the end of the 2024 Super League season.
For Arthur, it has been “a blessing disguise” with the change as well as the fact that the level is greater than he first anticipated.
“I’ve really enjoyed it, it’s taken me out of my comfort zone being away from the family and living on my own. It’s been a blessing in disguise for me the change,” Arthur told League Express.
“I’m working with players that are at different starting points than what I am used to, but I’ve really enjoyed digging my teeth into coaching, working hard on detail and getting stuck into the boys.
“I mean this respectfully, I wasn’t expecting the competition to be as high level as I thought it would be, only because I didn’t know a lot about it.”
In terms of his main ‘gripe’ with the northern hemisphere game, however, he wants to see a quicker ruck.
“I feel the game around the ruck could certainly be sped up. There are a lot of good, eyes-up footballers in the competition.
“I just feel like the ruck gets a bit messy when guys have earned the right to play quick. It can get really slowed down.
“I feel like the strength of a lot of English players is being able to play eyes-up footy and backing themselves.”
Arthur’s influence on Leeds has been evident, with a couple of solid performances culminating in a shock 30-4 win over Wigan Warriors last weekend.
So what has the Australian been working on with his new side?
“We have worked on a few things regarding out starts and what a good intense start looks like. We have started our games really well since I came in, all our first halves we have actually won.
“The next part of it is once we are in that battle how we manage the game and we have been up and down with that. We have turned over some cheap ball and conceded some penalties.
“We have narrowed their focus on each tackle which has helped us and we put in a solid 80 minutes against Wigan.”
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