For the superstitious Leeds Rhinos supporters, the relevance of last week's victory over Warrington Wolves will not be lost on them. The round 17 victory moved Rohan Smith's side to within four points of the play-offs and with ten rounds remaining, the top six remains an achievable goal.
It was in round 17 of the 2022 campaign that the Rhinos kickstarted a remarkable run of results that culminated in one of the most unlikely Grand Final appearances Super League has seen. Leeds thrashed Hull FC 62-16 in the same game round last year and that was the beginning of an excellent run of nine wins in eleven games that saw them surge into the play-offs, and nobody needs reminding what happened from there.
Leeds will likely need to go on a similar run this year and ultimately there remain some serious questions as to whether they are capable of going on a similar run this time. They are capable of producing performances, of that there is no question, but whether they can do it consistently is, at this point, entirely unclear. That's evident in the fact that Leeds haven't won any more than two games on the spin so far this season.
