Surprise may not be enough for Carnegie

Promoted clubs from the second tier have traditionally been easy pickings for the 11 members of the established elite, as Leeds were two years previously, but after a slow start on their return to the top flight last season, Leeds eventually picked up the pace and achieved safety, taking some notable scalps on the way.

Two-time European champions Wasps were defeated home and away by the Yorkshire upstarts, while Saracens and London Irish also came a cropper against Andy Key and Neil Back's side.

Hard-earned victories against relegation rivals Newcastle, Sale and Worcester – wins that were forged by their hard-nosed pack – also helped secure survival.

But winger Stephenson, who has joined Leeds on a two-year contract after playing against them last season for Bath, feels teams will have wised up to the threat the Headingley men pose.

"When you looked at the results, how they turned Wasps over and the amount of wins they did get, I think maybe it was a bit of a surprise what Leeds did last season," said Stephenson, 29. "The team that comes up is usually expected to be a bit of a whipping boy.

"But it just goes to show the strength that Leeds had, the character, the backbone they showed.

"And building on that by strengthening the squad bodes well for the coming season.

"If Leeds start the season like they did last season, though, then teams will work us out.

"So what we've been doing in pre-season is adding elements to our game and improving our game, making ourselves a harder team to beat."

Part of the new dimension to their game will be a more productive backline, that time and again last season failed to live up to the standards set by the forwards.

Stephenson and former Bradford Bulls winger Semi Tadulala – a prolific try-scorer in rugby league – are Leeds's two marquee signings in the back division for next season.

And Stephenson, who played for Newcastle before his three-year spell at Bath, hopes he is the man to provide the try-scoring threat for Leeds.

"We'll want to be scoring a lot more tries this season. We need to gel as a backline," he said. "There is a lot of strength in depth in the backline, and just looking around in pre-season it's plain to see that the first thing will be people fighting for positions.

"Everyone has been giving an extra 10-15 per cent because of the amount of pressure there will be for actually getting into that shirt come the start of the season. That is the way that it should be."