In the aftermath of Leeds Rhinos' loss to Huddersfield Giants in June, I published an article highlighting Leeds' apparent lack of depth at hooker should Brad Dwyer, as has now been confirmed, was to depart the club.
Kruise Leeming had missed the game at the John Smith's Stadium and his absence on that evening had been glaringly apparent, with Leeds 22 points down after 20 minutes. Leeming had dazzled in the previous weeks and his absence had appeared to highlight a pretty sizable problem for the club moving into 2023, with salary cap issues set to prevent them from signing a replacement.
When considering Leeds' options, it was suggested that Leeds' only option was to promote or mould someone from within the current squad. One name, mentioned in passing, was Jarrod O'Connor. The youngster had started at nine in the absence of Leeming that evening but, despite a solid defensive performance, had been unable to bring the attacking qualities Leeming was delivering.
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It was one of the first times O'Connor, traditionally a loose forward, had ever played the position. Anyone who watched that game then wouldn't have considered the 21-year-old as an obvious, or indeed a suitable, replacement for Dwyer.
Talk about a bad take. Three months on from that game, O'Connor is a dead-set cert to play at Old Trafford at hooker. He has played almost every single minute of the play-offs, restricting Kruise Leeming largely to a cameo role and keeping Dwyer out of the team altogether.
His rise has, similar to the Rhinos as a collective, been nothing short of remarkable. Even in a game a few weeks later, a defeat in France to Toulouse Olympique, O'Connor had showcased a performance to suggest he wasn't comfortable in the position. Perhaps, at times, he was overthinking.
And yet, since then, his performances have been superb. He was arguably the best player on the pitch as the Rhinos thumped Wigan 42-12 at Headingley. He followed that up with another two assists in the win over Salford, with his distribution improving week after week.
O'Connor has played in every single game since Rohan Smith's arrival, which demonstrates just how much trust the Rhinos head coach has in him. But now he is being played for longer, no longer restricted to short stints, now used for the majority of the match. His defence is a big reason for that but his growing ability with the ball, making the right decisions, knowing when and when not to run, has seen him rapidly emerge as an outstanding hooker. Leeds don't need to replace Brad Dwyer after all, they've already found their man.
Credit goes to O'Connor but also to the coach, who from early on clearly spotted something in the youngster that made him believe he had a quality hooker at his disposal. To not only identify that, but to also aid his development and improvement in such a short space of time, is one of many success stories during his first four months in charge.
O'Connor is perhaps his best individual success but not the only one. James Bentley and Zane Tetevano have gone from being ill-disciplined liabilities to pivotal performers. Bentley especially has curbed his problems and is now dishing out outstanding performances every week.
All eyes are on the Grand Final now, who knows what will happen there. But it's frightening to think what Smith might be able to do with a full pre-season to work with.
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