'Most impact I've felt': Leeds Rhinos boss Rohan Smith hails Headingley crowd after rousing fightback

The 2022 Super League Grand Finalists appeared to be heading for a fourth defeat of the year at 22-8 down but rallied superbly in the second half to score 24 unanswered points and give their season lift-off.

The energy inside Headingley was palpable and Leeds could not be stopped.

Smith suggested that he felt some contentious calls aided the Rhinos' cause via the crowd.

"It was buzzing today," he said.

"That's the most impact I've felt in my time here. They were riding it hard because we were playing well.

"They love to see the short kick-off and the cross-field kick – the 2004-07 style of expressing yourselves and playing a bit.

"They were probably agitated as well with some other things going on which fed fuel to the South Stand. It was on fire."

The Rhinos were staring down the barrel when Harry Newman was sin-binned for dissent shortly after the interval but the incident sparked them into life with Richie Myler and Jarrod O’Connor both scoring in the centre's absence.

“When we went down to 12 men we actually played better, so that was a good sign,” said Smith.

“You don’t know how that kind of period is necessarily going to pan out but sometimes in sport people show more when their back is against the wall and that’s when you find out about them.”

Newman atoned for his yellow card with a second try late on to put the seal on a memorable victory.

“The talent is there and the challenge is to find his all-round game week in, week out – he’s got all the tools and it’s about application,” added Smith.

“Every player needs to learn how to manage their emotions, that’s a critical part of being at high-level performance. It’s not just talent, it’s the management of emotions that gives the talent a chance.”

The revival continued an inconsistent season for Smith’s side after gifting Castleford Tigers their first win of the campaign last week.

Smith has urged his team to stay grounded as they switch their attention to a trip to Hull KR.

“That game won’t count at all when we go to KR on Friday,” added Smith. "It will be gone.

“But it did show there is a lot of belief and resilience in the group, that they are brave and want to play footy when the opportunity allows.”