FORMER Super League referee Richard Silverwood has taken aim at Leeds Rhinos, claiming they have become “very average” under current head coach Rohan Smith.
Smith, who took charge of the Rhinos midway through the 2022 Super League season, led Leeds to the Super League Grand Final that year but the West Yorkshire club fell well below expectations last year.
The Rhinos finished outside the Super League play-offs in 2023 whilst they currently sit in eighth on the ladder in 2024.
For Silverwood, he believes that Leeds have gone “backwards” and has taken a swipe at the Rhinos’ attack and lack of youth development as opposed to St Helens.
Silverwood posted on X: “Leeds have gone backwards. Cas was a poor 1st half and turned it round. Same at Leigh. Apart from the GF run, Leeds have been very average under Smith. Since Long left the attack looks clueless and the pack brittle. Why can’t Leeds produce forwards like Delaney, Lees, Wingfield?”
The Rhinos have won just four of their opening seven games of the 2024 Super League season and crashed out of the Challenge Cup at the first attempt.
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