Rohan Smith says that he will look to strike a balance between structure and freedom with his Leeds Rhinos team after taking charge last week.
Two weeks after his appointment, Smith landed in the UK from Australia last Tuesday and got straight to work.
He took over a team that has won its last two games under the interim stewardship of Jamie Jones-Buchanan, who now returns to being assistant coach under Smith alongside Sean Long.
Smith will have had more than a week working on the training field with the squad by the time he takes charge of his first match this Sunday, away at Salford Red Devils in Super League.
But the former Bradford Bulls and Norths Devils coach has given a hint of what he would like his Leeds team to look like.
“The teams that I’ve coached, whether as a head coach or in the NRL running the attack (at clubs), there’s a system in place and there is structure, but the opportunities within it are a little more fluid than probably in a lot of the modern game,” he explained.
“There is more scope for choice. Our game isn’t black and white, so I try and teach the grey as much as possible, but within a framework that allows us to play as a team.
“I don’t buy into the read-and-react, eyes-up footy. That doesn’t tell you enough. There needs to be a structure and a system, but the freedom within it is where the fun comes.
“It’s also where the teamwork comes – when there are choices to be made, it increases the need to depend on each other.
“How it looks next week will be far different to in six weeks, ten weeks and next season as well, they will be a work in progress.”
Since taking the Rhinos’ role, Smith has also emphasised his desire to build strong relationships and connect with players and staff.
He explained how he would discuss the team’s style of play with the players individually to find the best way forward for the whole team.
Smith said: “That will be one of the questions I ask each player when I sit down with them. What are your best plays? How do you play best? That needs to fit into the framework of the team.
“It won’t be ‘this is how I want you to play’, it’ll be ‘this is how we play’.”
A week after having a suspected seizure, new signing Zak Hardaker returned to Leeds training last Thursday, during Smith’s first session with the full group.
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