Leeds Rhinos forward Bodene Thompson is confident his misfiring side are ready to bounce back at Salford Red Devils on Friday – despite losing key forward Matt Prior to suspension.
Prior will serve a one-game ban this week after being sinbinned for a high tackle during last Thursday’s 31-8 home loss to Hull FC – the Rhinos’ fourth defeat from five games.
England prop Mikolaj Oledzki also went off late on with a head knock against the Black and Whites but subsequently passed his HIA and will hope to feature against face Salford.
Homegrown prop Tom Holroyd is still sidelined after surgery on a syndesmosis injury sustained during pre-season, but Richard Agar’s squad are boosted by the return of captain Kruise Leeming and back-rowers Cameron Smith and James Bentley after suspension.
Versatile Thompson, who can play in the front and back row, told Rugby League Live: “We’re lucky in that we’ve got really good depth, especially in the forwards.
“Cam Smith will come straight back into the mix after his ban and he’s one of our main ball-players.
“He’s got so much skill and works hard – he might only play between 40 or 60 minutes but he racks up 40 to 50 tackles in every game.
“His work-rate tends to go unseen, but we know his value to the team.
“He will be leading from the front at the head of the pack, so I don’t think we will too badly affected by Matty’s ban. We’ve just got to go out and make sure we go out and turn it on.
“I think we’re ready to put in a performance. We’ve had a really good review of the Hull FC game and there was a good feeling about training today.
“It has been a bit flat lately I feel, but today and over the weekend was really refreshing.
“I don’t know if the sun being out helped, but it definitely felt good. With that in mind, I would definitely expect a bounce-back from us this week at Salford.”
After a frustrating start to their campaign, the Rhinos are desperate for victory at the AJ Bell Stadium.
Thompson admitted: “It’s been really hit and miss for us so far this season.
“Last year we had a run of losses and were decimated by injuries – we had Rhyse Martin playing in the halves in one match – but still managed to make it to within eighty minutes of the Grand Final.
“It’s still early doors, so we’ve just to stick at it and do the fundamentals right such as making sure our training is bang on.
“We can’t lose patience with that and, as long as we’re doing the little things right, the rest will take care of itself.”
Thompson played for Gold Coast Titans, Wests Tigers and New Zealand Warriors in the NRL earlier in his career.
He also featured for Warrington Wolves in their 2018 Grand Final defeat to Wigan Warriors either side of spells at Leigh Centurions and Toronto Wolfpack.
He added: “The professionalism here at Leeds is right up there with anything in the NRL, especially with Rich Hunwicks having come in during the off-season.
“The Rhinos are one of the top clubs I’ve played for and there is a lot of expectation on us this season because we’ve got so many good players.
“But like I say, we’ve just got to get the simple things right for us to click as a team.”
Agar, by his own admission, will never win any popularity contests with Leeds supporters despite guiding the clubs to Challenge Cup glory in 2020 and to the play-off semi-finals last term.
Yet Thompson said the players were fully behind their head coach, saying: “Rich has been around for a while now and I didn’t know much about him before I came to Leeds.
“But obviously he’s changed the club since coming in and taking over when they were in a bit of turmoil.
“Credit to him, he’s done well for the club in the few years he’s been in charge.”
