Wigan Warriors v Leeds Rhinos: Rohan Smith's battle-hardened side primed for high-stakes showdown

The Rhinos found themselves second bottom after winning just one of their opening nine Super League games, a dismal start that cost Richard Agar his job along the way.

Rejuvenated under new head coach Rohan Smith, Leeds slowly worked their way up the table and moved into the top six for the first time last month thanks to a home win over Salford Red Devils.

The job was far from done, with Smith's men needing to win four of their remaining five matches to seal a play-off spot.

The battle-hardened Rhinos saw off a well-rested Catalans Dragons in a tense eliminator and will need to repeat the trick in the semi-finals against a Wigan Warriors side coming off the back of a timely week off.

As well as benefiting from the luxury of being able to put their feet up in recent weeks with a top-two finish secured, Wigan are protecting Super League's only perfect home record in 2022.

But after defying the odds to get this far, Leeds are in a good space ahead of Friday's trip to the DW Stadium.

"All four teams that are still in will fancy their chances of being there next weekend," said Smith, whose side are vying to face St Helens or Salford in the Grand Final.

"We know we've got a massive task playing against a well-refreshed team that have had a nice run into this game.

"It's a massive challenge but we feel we've got a good shot of really testing them and keeping the season alive."

An away date with Super League's top points scorers is arguably the toughest assignment in the competition.

Bevan French topped the try-scoring chart with 31 and laid on another 16 during the regular season, while Man of Steel contender Jai Field was directly involved in 44 tries.

Smith believes the Warriors may have another trick or two up their sleeve after making the most of their time on the training field.

"There will possibly be a few tweaks and twists to their attack," said Smith.

"They're a rejuvenated team that have been among the top teams all year.

"We're going to have to play well in all aspects. They're a seasoned, veteran team across the board with some real strike in Field and French.

"Outside of those guys they've got a bunch of international standard players. We can't centre our attention too narrowly on those great players."

The Rhinos managed to keep French and Field relatively quiet in the 42-12 win over Wigan at Headingley in July.

Although French scored a try and laid on another for Jake Bibby, he made only 54 metres compared with a season average of 115.

Field, who averaged 129 metres overall, was restricted to 68.

Smith was quick to stress that both teams have moved on from that game.

"We put a lot into the last performance against Wigan to prepare for their key strengths," he said.

"We'll lean on that a little bit but also prepare for them using those guys in some different ways as well.

"Who we are as a team has evolved a little bit since that time. We certainly took some confidence out of that result and that performance but that was a long time ago; a week is a long time in sport so that's long gone.

"We did some things really well: we defended really well and were really connected on that day. A few things went our way in that game that made the scoreline as it was.

"It's certainly a fresh start and we're expecting Wigan to be at their best.

"It'll be another level or two up, I imagine. The stakes are getting higher and we're playing against a team that are well refreshed."

Leeds are chasing a first Grand Final appearance since 2017 when they beat Castleford Tigers to lift the trophy for the eighth time.

The Rhinos will be backed by an army of travelling supporters at the DW Stadium after a surge in ticket sales in the build-up to the semi-final.

After feeding off the fans during the regular season run-in and again in Perpignan in week one of the play-offs, Smith is anticipating another special occasion in Wigan’s backyard.

"The players love playing in front of the fans at Headingley or any other ground,” said the Leeds boss.

"We had an amazing away support last week given the short turnaround of knowing when and who we were playing. For people to make that journey was unbelievable.

"The crowd support will be huge. If there are moments when it's tough and we're hearing that support, it'll be great for us.

"It just shows what kind of club it is when people not only come to home games but dedicate their life to travelling to support their team. That's immense."