Jarrod O’Connor admits his father’s success in Super League is fuelling his long-term desire to become an 80-minute loose forward at Leeds Rhinos.
Dad Terry, the former Great Britain prop, enjoyed a long career in the game with Salford, Wigan and Widnes and now works as part of Sky Sports’ commentary team on their Super League coverage.
Leeds star O’Connor progressed into the youth ranks at Widnes before the Vikings went into administration and sold him and team-mate Sam Walters to the Rhinos at the start of the 2019 season.
The duo have since progressed into Leeds’ first-team squad and O’Connor is one of a number of up and coming Super League players seeking to emulate a famous father.
Kevin Sinfield’s son Jack and Jim Gannon’s son Morgan are also part of Leeds’ first-team squad, while Huddersfield Giants rookie Will Pryce, son of Super League legend Leon Pryce, is rated as one of the hottest young prospects in the game.
“Growing up I watched my dad and I think every young lad wants to be like their father,” O’Connor told Rugby League Live.
“I played rugby as a kid and having my dad to aspire to just pushed me even more and gave me a target to work towards.
“That’s still the case now. Does my dad give me advice? He always has done, even when I was a half-back.
“He thinks he knows the game better than anyone but he’s always tried to help me, no matter what.
“He played the game long enough to know what I need to do in order to get to the best out of my ability.”
The 20-year-old has played for Leeds in live Sky games when his dad has been commentating on the action.
“He said he hates it because he wants to watch me but he has to commentate on the whole game,” added O’Connor.
“It’s a bit of a distraction for him because he just wants to watch me as much as he can.
“It was hard during Covid when we are playing behind closed doors, but at least he was able to be at the game and watch me due to his job with Sky Sports.”
O’Connor’s parents were at the John Smith’s Stadium last season when he made his first start for Leeds in a close-fought defeat against Huddersfield Giants.
The match was played behind closed doors but O’Connor said: “That was a big game for me and I know how fortunate I was to have my mum and dad there, so I really appreciated it.
“I’m loving life at Leeds and have moved over to Wakefield with my girlfriend.
“We live close to my sister, whose boyfriend is Brad Walker, the Wakefield player, so it’s nice having family close by.
“When Widnes went bust, Sam and I were gutted but excited at the same time to be joining Leeds Rhinos.
“I grew up supporting Widnes but to play for a club like Leeds in Super League is unbelievable.
“This is easily the biggest and best club in England. With the facilities, stadium and the amount of fans we have, there is nowhere else I’d rather be.”
As he gears up for the new season, O’Connor is keen to nail down a regular place in Richard Agar’s side at loose forward.
He explained: “That’s where I see myself playing and, eventually, I want to end up being an 80-minute loose forward.
“Getting as much game-time as possible will benefit me and help me to stay on the field as long as possible.
“I have always watched the smaller loose forwards and in the NRL I follow the likes of Cameron Murray and Victor Radley.
“These are the guys I want to be base my game on and I want to be at their level and play at international level.
“I’ve had a good pre-season and am really raring to go this year.
“Looking at the team we have, I think we should be aiming to make the Grand Final.
“Some of the players we have are unbelievable and competition for places is massive.
“We signed James Bentley but Alex Mellor has been brilliant in pre-season training and Rhyse Martin has been killing it too.
“There are players pushing each other all over the park and that’s why I believe we can make the Grand Final.”
O’Connor, who is off-contract at the end of the season, added: “Obviously I want to impress and get a new deal.
“The key to that is playing regularly and we’ve already had a few chats, so I’m confident we will get something sorted pretty soon.”
