Jon Wilkin predicts where Leeds Rhinos will finish this season

VaselineMay 11, 2024

0 2 minutes read

Jon Wilkin predicts where Leeds Rhinos will finish this season

For the second consecutive time, Leeds Rhinos will return from Perpignan after being written off, and the nature of that defeat and previous performances in 2024 have prompted Jon Wilkin to make a bold claim about where the club will finish at the end of the season.

It’s been a long time since Leeds Rhinos knocked on the door of the League Leaders Shield or even the top three, with the club failing to even make the play-offs in 2023.

That’s where they currently sit, with the Rhinos sitting seventh, just two playoff points and just four off top spot given how close Super League is this season.

Despite these facts, Jon Wilkin claimed that Leeds Rhinos will not finish in the play-offs as he cited a number of areas where the club underperforms such as territory, errors and possession.

Speaking for Sky Sports, Jon Wilkin said: “I think the stats for Leeds Rhinos this season are alarming. I think they are indicative of a side that is 7th, 8th or 9th best in the competition. They conceded far too much territory and got stuck in their own half.”

That was the story of the box in the loss against Steve McNamara’s side with the Rhinos on the wrong end of stats such as possession, completion percentage, sets completed, carries and metres, all the while having to make even more tackles.

The Catalans built up an 8-0 half-time lead to eventually run out 26-0 winners, and Jon Wilkin wasn’t done with his predictions.

‘I don’t get excited’ – Jon Wilkin questions quality of stars in Leeds Rhinos squad

Super League pundit Jon Wilkin claims there are majors

Credit: Imago Images

When it was suggested by fellow pundit John Wells that the Rhinos actually have a strong goal line defence, Jon Wilkin was having none of it.

He reacted sharply: “Their goal line defense is good because it’s a lot of practice because they spend half the game defending there.”

With such a terrible performance, it was clear that Wilkin had far more negatives to weigh in on than positives, and he made sure to make it clear that it wasn’t an “agenda” but simply a case of him saying what he sees.

Up until that point, he said: “I think people think I’m overly critical of Leeds and have some sort of agenda. I simply observe what I see. They are not a playoff team and they have not given me any evidence that they are a playoff team.

“They can make the playoffs but I would say sixth place for them is a great result this year. On top of that, I think they probably overachieved with the team they have.”

A final criticism concerned the recruitment side of things, as despite Leeds Rhinos putting a lot of money into the squad for 2024 and Gary Hetherington admitting they spent huge to land Brodie Croft and Andy Ackers, Jon Wilkin he was not impressed with the team.

He asked: “We all get nostalgic and start reading the team sheets, does the Leeds team sheet excite you? Does it really excite you? That’s my question because I watch it sometimes and I think when Newman is there and Brodie Croft is there, I get excited. But today’s team sheet is not special.”

VaselineMay 11, 2024

0 2 minutes read

‘I don’t get excited’ – Jon Wilkin questions quality of stars in Leeds Rhinos squad

Vaseline

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