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‘Bad message’ – Tony Smith responds to suggestions Rohan Smith should be sacked by Leeds Rhinos

Leeds Rhinos suffered one of their worst defeats of the previous season, losing 18-10 away to Hull FC. Coming into the game off the back of a home win against Castleford Tigers, Leeds lacked commitment in defense and cohesion in attack as they meekly surrendered against the Black and Whites.

Immediately after the match, Leeds chief executive Gary Hetherington was seen entering the Leeds dressing room as the Leeds team locked themselves in the post-match room. Head coach Rohan Smith finally appeared to face the media after a longer than usual delay.

Smith’s uncle, former Leeds and Hull head coach Tony Smith, was part of the Sky Sports team covering the game. Speaking after the game, Tony Smith gave his opinion on whether it is right for Rohan Smith to face pressure on his position.

Leeds host Leigh Leopards in their next home game in what is now a must-win game if they are to stay in the play-off picture.

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Tony Smith believes Leeds Rhinos would be sending the “wrong message” by sacking Rohan Smith

‘Bad message’ – Tony Smith responds to suggestions Rohan Smith should be sacked by Leeds Rhinos

Credit: Imago Images

New manager Ian Blease officially starts at Rhinos on Monday and the topic of Smith’s future at the club will now be the most pressing priority in his inbox. After investing heavily in the summer, Leeds are outside the top six in Super League after more than half the season.

Asked if he thought the walls were closing in on nephew Rohan, Tony Smith disagreed. He believes Leeds must stick with the under-fire manager to build a winning culture at the club.

“No, I don’t understand that I am. We speculate. All I would hope for is that everyone pulls together when the going gets a little rough. That’s not how it works though, Tony. It didn’t work for you here. This is where it got difficult.

“But if you want to build something, and you want to build something really good and strong, you will come together through the hard times. But that doesn’t happen in sports. Yes Yes. And the clubs that do it well usually go through the hard stuff and build something really good, unless we give in to the pressure.

“Anything worthwhile goes through hard times and it’s not all roses. That’s how you build culture, going through tough times.

“If you say wWe’ll change things up every time the going gets tough. It’s a bad message to send and it’s a bad culture to produce.”


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