Leeds Rhinos boss Rohan Smith confirms Kruise Leeming bombshell after defeat to Castleford Tigers

The hooker was conspicuous by his absence when Smith named his team for Thursday's West Yorkshire derby at Castleford Tigers, with Leeds Live reporting that he was on his way out of the club.

In his post-match press conference, Smith said: “He has requested a release and he has been given the opportunity to seek one.

“I’m not exactly sure of the timing but I found out earlier this week. I’m not sure when people were made aware but it hasn’t been discussed as a group.

“I just coach the players that are Leeds Rhinos.”

When asked whether it came out of the blue or was something that had been building, Smith added: “You’d have to ask Kruise.”

Smith indicated that he was happy with his hooking options as he played down the loss of an influential figure just five games into the new Super League season.

"I think Jarrod O’Connor has been doing a terrific job," he said.

"Corey Johnson is back to full health. James Bentley played there as a kid and has done a couple of little shifts there with limited practice. We’ll do our best."

Leeds were second best against their inspired rivals at Wheldon Road, going down 14-8 to fall to their third defeat of the season.

The Rhinos led by two points at the break after Richie Myler’s try and four points from the boot of Rhyse Martin but looked increasingly listless as the second period progressed.

Heading into the game still pointless from their first four games, Castleford belied their early-season woes and a brace from Bureta Faraimo eventually earned Andy Last’s men a richly deserved win.

Smith admitted: “We just really failed to get into that second half. We made some really fundamental errors that didn’t allow us to get any rhythm.

“It was a hard game and we showed patches of good, solid arm-wrestle footy. But it was one of those nights where it was hard to get out of that hole.”

Last, who replaced Lee Radford on a temporary basis earlier this month and has indicated that he wants the job full-time, hailed Castleford's team spirit.

“I’m just so pleased for this group of players because they’ve had a tough first four games and they’ve faced a fair bit of adversity,” said Last.

“We left some bloodied and battered bodies out there but they showed how much it means to them to pull on the shirt and play for Cas.”