Leeds Rhinos marquee man Brodie Croft nursing injury as Rohan Smith provides round-up

The 2022 Super League Man of Steel is working his way back from an ankle issue sustained towards the end of his time with Salford Red Devils.

Tom Holroyd, James Donaldson, Leon Ruan and Max Simpson are the other players yet to join in full training.

NRL recruit Paul Momirovski is not due to arrive until the new year, while Rhyse Martin is on leave after international duty.

"There are a few niggles so we haven't had them all on the field together yet," said Smith.

"Tom Holroyd had a knee niggle that he's still taking care of. He's a few weeks away still.

"Brodie Croft played with a little bit of an ankle injury at the back end of last season. He's just getting going again and is nearly back in full team training.

"James Donaldson had minor knee surgery which was a four to six-week recovery. He's almost back.

"Leon Ruan had an elbow operation after that Catalans injury. That's a five-month recovery. He's going well but is still a way away.

"Max Simpson is still coming back from his ACL but is going well."

Harry Newman, Mikolaj Oledzki and James Bentley were among the players that missed the start of the 2023 campaign, while Martin and Cameron Smith sat out much of pre-season.

"It's definitely different with no World Cup and fewer major off-season surgeries – and not to the key players," added Rhinos boss Smith. "We're in a better position to build off."

Smith used his first pre-season at Leeds to take a look at players in different positions, both in training and during friendlies.

Some experiments have ended, including Morgan Gannon's half-back education.

"I was doing that to potentially build depth and develop players in a more rounded sense," said Smith.

"I had to get to know players and see what they were capable of to make decisions about our roster moving forward.

"We found out some things about some guys. Some we'll persist with and some we'll park for now.

"In Super League, you have to have players who are versatile otherwise you don't have the depth you need."

The Rhinos will have a brand-new spine in 2024 after signing Lachie Miller, Croft, Matt Frawley and Andy Ackers.

All four players are involved in the early stages of pre-season but Smith plans to ease them in.

Asked whether it was important for the new signings to have game time together as a spine in pre-season, Smith replied: "That won't happen. They won't all play together until we play Hull KR in the last friendly.

"We do a lot of 13 v 13 and opposed sessions so you get a lot of chemistry there. Obviously there's nothing like being under pressure in a Super League game – but you don't get that in friendlies either.

"We'll have to gel quickly once the season starts."