Brad Arthur names the Leeds Rhinos legend he wished he’d coached as current duo praised

Brad Arthur has revealed that legendary Leeds captain Kevin Sinfield is the one Rhinos player he wished he had been able to coach during his career while also heaping praise on two current stars of his side too.

Arthur was speaking on the Leeds Rhinos podcast, the club’s official show to preview this weekend’s huge play-off clash with St Helens at AMT Headingley.

The Australian was asked a number of questions by Rhinos supporters – including which legend of the past he wished he had been able to work with.

And Arthur admitted that Sinfield, whose son Jack is in his current first-team squad, was ‘his style of player’ and one he admired in particular.

“The two that we’ve got in the team now are pretty good!” Arthur joked, referring to Kallum Watkins and Ryan Hall.

“I don’t want to embarrass him because his son plays in the side, but (Kevin) Sinfield. He’s my style of player. Pretty tough, uncompromising and he had a fair bit of skill about him.”

Arthur was also able to sing the praises of two homegrown stars who have flourished under his guidance in 2025: Ash Handley and Harry Newman.

Handley has emerged as a real leader for Leeds while Newman has not missed a game this season, and once again looks set to be involved in England’s Ashes plans given his form of 2025.

“Every single one of them has made some improvements and done things that have really impressed me along the way,” he said. “Whether it’s their training attitude, the type of people they are.. but in particular there’s a couple of guys.

“I think Ash Handley, with his leadership. Sometimes you take for granted what they bring to the team and you don’t realise it until he’s missing. When Ash was missing for three or four games, his leadership has come a long way from when I first got here. We’ve seen it this week with him back in training.

“Harry Newman, with his composure. He was always in the face of the referee and played the victim role a bit looking for excuses. He’s been rewarded with 27 games and hasn’t missed hardly any training.”

You can watch the podcast in full here.

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