I SEE Rohan Smith has changed his tune over the captaincy situation at Leeds.
This time last year, it was all about a leadership group, with the responsibility of being in charge of the side shared around.
Like a lot of supporters, I was against that idea.
You can’t have two principal conductors of an orchestra, and it’s the same with a sports team, because in those key moments when decisions are vital and have to be made on the hoof, there’s no time for a committee meeting.
It’s fine having folk you can lean on for some advice, and a deputy is obviously needed for occasions when the skipper is not around, but whoever it is wearing the armband, there needs to be one person making those crucial calls – one voice and a clear message.
It seems something has changed in Rohan’s mind over the last twelve months and he has finally come round to that way of thinking.
Cameron Smith has got the job, and as a club man through and through, one who has emerged from the youth ranks and proven himself to be a more-than-useful loose-forward, he’ll be proud to take on the role.
However, my pick would have been Brodie Croft, because he has all the experience and rugby nous needed, he plays in a central position where strings are already being pulled and it’s clear to see everything that is going on, he’s a strong personality, and I reckon he would thrive on the responsibility.
But Cameron it is, and I think he’ll make a good fist of what is a big job at a big club who are under big pressure to produce the goods after a very disappointing 2023 campaign.
Finishing eighth and going out of the Challenge Cup at the first hurdle, albeit to a very good Wigan side, just wasn’t good enough.
The arrival of a string of new signings, including Brodie and his fellow former Salford team-mate Andy Ackers, is a step in the right direction, and Leeds particularly need new blood in the halves, with former Huddersfield player Matt Frawley also incoming, from Canberra.
It will be interesting to see how another Aussie, Lachie Miller, does at fullback.
He has only limited NRL experience at Cronulla and Newcastle, but Rohan has seen enough to hand him a three-year contract, so it will be a good test of his judgement.
While there is more quality to call on, the key is consistency, because although Leeds took top scalps in Wigan, Catalans and St Helens this year, some of their other performances were really poor.
Rohan has to find the answer to that inconsistency, and along with his uncle Tony Smith at Hull FC, who has now had his ‘free’ settling-in season, and Ian Watson at Huddersfield, who also finished below Leeds, he will be under real pressure to produce from the outset.
