Sinfield reaches his 400-game milestone

Recollecting his first appearance, against Sheffield Eagles in 1997, the England international last night admitted the important bearing it had on a stunning career to come.

“I still remember quite a lot about it,” he said. “We lost and I came off the bench in the second row for about the last 20 minutes.

“But I was a 16-year-old and had never played against men before. For me to face that, so early in my career, was probably a god-send.

“It showed the standards where I needed to get to physically and mentally if I wanted to make a career out of it.

“It took me a couple of years before I became a regular but it certainly stood me in good stead.

“But if you’d asked me after that first game if I’d be making 400 appearances for the club, I’d have been very shocked.

“I’m obviously very proud and delighted. It’s a great club and to have been there for that length of time is a great honour.”

However, Sinfield, 31, is never one to bask in his own personal glory and so tonight, when Hull KR arrive at Headingley for the Super League opener, there is only one thought in his mind.

Improving as a team is paramount for the club this term; they may have won another Grand Final but finishing fifth, after last season’s slow start, was simply not good enough.

“We want to be more consistent this year and start straight from the off but it’s also something we need to do,” explained Sinfield.

“Without getting ahead of ourselves, we’ve a big game (World Club Challenge) in three weeks’ time against Manly and matches against both Hull KR on Friday, and Wigan next Saturday, will be ideal preparation.

“Our focus now is Rovers who will be tough opponents but we must look at the big picture, too.”

Ominously, the stand-off – expected to break Lewis Jones’s 48-year-old club record points total of 2,920 later this season – believes the champions are geared to go further. “Our home form was scratchy last season and we need to improve that but everyone feels all parts of our game can get better still and that’s what excites us most,” said Sinfield.

Record-breaking Rhinos career

DURING Kevin Sinfield’s 399 games in Leeds colours, he has contributed 67 tries, 1,279 goals – a club record – and 27 drop goals.

He is their most successful captain to date with five league triumphs and two World Club Challenge titles.

Sinfield was named captain in 2003, when aged 22, and is now also the leading goal and points scorer in Super League history.

He is contracted until the end of 2014, meaning the stand-off will finish his career as a one-club man – and might yet reach 500 Leeds games.