Leeds coach on Harry Newman return and Ash Handley injury blow

Leeds coach Rohan Smith was full of praise for Harry Newman after the centre scored on his return from injury in their 26-0 win over Wakefield.

The 23-year-old went over for the Rhinos within two minutes of replacing Sam Walters on the hour mark in front of the cheering home fans at Headingley.

“It’s obviously nice and fitting,” Smith said on Newman, who has struggled with hamstring injuries in recent years.

“Harry has been very patient and he’s trained really hard. The physio team have done a terrific job with him. Our strength and conditioning crew have taken over for the last bit and have seen him through.

“He’s a unique athlete and unique athletes need to be treated as that, so we’ll dust off and review and see how he pulls up, and work out a course of action for next week.”

Harry Newman returns as Leeds suffer Ash Handley blow

On a night that also saw Ireland international James Bentley return from a lengthy injury lay-off, Smith revealed one potential negative with star winger Ash Handley facing a couple of weeks on the sidelines with an ankle injury after he was forced off midway through the game.

Meanwhile, David Fusitu’a (2), Tom Holroyd and Nene Macdonald got on the scoresheet alongside Newman.

“We knew Wakefield would be extremely difficult to break down,” added Smith.

“Huddersfield found them hard to crack last week, and Catalans managed to undo them with their kicking. They competed hard and had a few injuries as the game went on, so we had to earn that.”

The Rhinos are currently seventh in the Super League table. Smith’s side have won two from four.

They will aim to get their third win on the board next Thursday when they travel to neighbours Castleford.

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