Rohan Smith leaves Leeds Rhinos with immediate effect – Total Rugby League

LEEDS RHINOS have mutually agreed that head coach Rohan Smith will step down with immediate effect.

Smith joined the Rhinos in April 2022 and led the club to the Super League grand final in his first year after agreeing a deal until the end of the 2025 season.

Smith joined the Rhinos from the Norths Devils after working with a number of NRL clubs during his 20-plus year coaching career, including the New Zealand Warriors, Sydney Roosters and Penrith Panthers. He was also head coach of Bradford Bulls in 2016.

The Rhinos missed out on the play-offs last season and last Saturday lost their seventh game of the season, currently leaving them outside the play-off positions, albeit just four points off the top four in Super League’s most competitive season for years.

Commenting on the decision, Smith said, “We’ve always said it was a long-term project to establish a team that could have lasting success, and I believe we’ve assembled a roster that can continue to push for a 2024 playoff berth, supporters can get behind the boys and support them.

“Friday will be a special night for the club and we wanted to remove the current speculation and distractions about the manager. Celebrating Rob’s life, the great work done by the club and Kev for the MND community and playing well is the focus for Friday. I think this team can still achieve great things and I’m proud of the work the coaching staff has done to develop players, especially the next generations. Unfortunately, I will not be head coach to see this development continue, but I look forward to watching the clubs future successes and wish everyone at the club all the best for the future,” Smith added.

Leeds Rhinos chief executive Gary Hetherington commented: “It is always disappointing to lose a head coach, especially someone like Rohan who has done so much good work behind the scenes since his arrival two years ago. We were sitting at the foot of the table at the time, but he reinvigorated us to reach the Grand Final in incredible form. However, it’s fair to say that the Rhinos’ results and performances this season have not met all of our expectations to get us back to where we want to be. The board has a long-term strategy for where we want the club to be in the future, which began with the appointment of Ian Blease as our first sporting director. Ian is now carefully considering our options before making his recommendations to the Board.

“On behalf of everyone at Rhinos, I would like to thank Rohan for his dedication and hard work as head coach. It is rare to come across a coach who is as passionate about Rugby League at all levels as Rohan and personally after bringing Rohan and his young family to England it is sad that his time at the club did not bring the success he I had it. I know he wanted it so badly and we both believed it was possible from the start,” Hetherington added.

Sporting director Ian Blease added: “Although I have only recently arrived at the club, I have seen from my meetings with the staff and rugby players how well-respected Rohan is. We need to manage this change carefully so that the players can fully focus on their performances, starting on Friday against Leigh.

“My review of our rugby operation is ongoing and clearly the scope of these recommendations will now have to widen with Rohan’s departure. That process now begins to appoint a new head coach who we believe will be talented and suitable to lead the club into a new era. Assistant coaches Chev Walker and Scott Grix will attend the final training session of the week on Thursday and will be in charge on Friday night against Leigh. Then we don’t have any games next week for the international break, so that will allow us to plan further into the future.”

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