Twelve months ago, Leeds Rhinos' long pursuit of a head coach came to an end. After weeks of silence and mystery, Gary Hetherington returned to Australia having appointed a coach who went by the name of Rohan Smith.
If we're totally honest, it wasn't a popular appointment. Hetherington's search for a coach had gone on for a long time. Fans were expecting a well-known, high-profile name. Shane Flanagan, Cameron Ciraldo, Andrew Webster and a heap of others had been suggested. Instead, they got a coach who, on this side of the world at least, was best known for a short spell at Bradford Bulls.
Twelve months on, nobody - literally nobody, could have predicted what would come next. Within a week, Leeds had signed Zak Hardaker. That was a turn in itself. More on that later.
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He didn't actually arrive in the country for almost a month after that, with his first game in the country being on May 15th, a 23-8 loss to Salford Red Devils. After thumping a few teams and being thumped by St Helens in return, the Rhinos went on a rampage nobody, not even the most optimistic Leeds fan, could have envisaged.
Eleven wins in thirteen matches propelled them into the play-offs and then the Grand Final. Memorable wins at Catalans and Wigan booked an unlikely spot at Old Trafford. And while they lost comfortably, albeit respectfully, to St Helens, there was little doubt that Smith had surpassed all initial expectations and changed a few people's minds too.
The hallmark of Smith's time at the club has been his willingness to make bold and, let's face it, unpopular decisions. He hasn't taken safe options and he certainly hasn't gone with the general consensus. His decision to start Jarrod O'Connor in the play-offs, benching Kruise Leeming and dropping Brad Dwyer, was a head-scratcher at first but soon inspired.
His recruitment and retention has split opinion, particularly the decision to not push harder for Zak Hardaker and let him leave for Leigh Leopards. Jack Broadbent was another many fans wanted to stick around, Liam Sutcliffe and Brad Dwyer were others allowed to walk. He let a lot of players leave many would have kept.
And let's face it, he signed a few many hadn't heard of. Luis Roberts, Leon Ruan, James McDonnell and Luke Hooley weren't the calibre of signing Leeds fans are accustomed to. Replacing Hardaker with Nene Macdonald, who had spent the year previous in the Championship, also raised eyebrows. Heck, even rival Super League coaches were questioning his methods. Ultimately, it's too early to judge but certainly in the case of McDonnell, it's proving an inspired pick-up, and Macdonald has gone well too.
Smith has done things his way. And his way has turned out alright so far. His decisions and team selections often leave him there to be shot at. The decision to not appoint a captain and the Kruise Leeming saga are another two prime examples. But it's hard to not admire the conviction of his actions, even if you don't always agree with them. At times, some of those decisions have come back to bite him and such is the nature, he has copped criticism.
But all being said, Smith inherited a team at the bottom of Super League and turned them into Grand Finalists in six months. That, in itself, is worth acclaim. While they currently look like a middle of the road outfit this year, his willingness to give young players senior roles is ensuring the Rhinos have a core of players that can take them into another year of potential dominance. The future does look bright.
When Smith arrived, the message was always that it was a long-term project and only then could Smith be judged. Normally, that acts as a subtle warning that things may get worse before they get better.
But Smith has made things better and made the future look brighter along the way.
The challenge for Smith, certainly in the next eight months, is nailing recruitment. Leeds have major salary cap money at their disposal and it gives Smith his first real opportunity to make this team his own. History tells us to expect the unexpected.
The new episode of House of League is out now! Matthew Shaw is joined by Paul Cooke and Joe Appleyard to discuss the season so far and grade every club's campaign.
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