'Useless' Jon Wilkin tears into Leeds Rhinos as Brad Arthur predictions made

Jon Wilkin has stated that Leeds Rhinos are the Super League club under pressure from 'minute one' in 2025, with the Sky Sports pundit adding that the Yorkshire outfit have been 'useless' for the last six years.

The Rhinos head into the new season with Brad Arthur at the helm and Ian Blease as the club's sporting director. The recently appointed duo are challenged to turnaround Leeds' fortunes, with the outfit, one of Super League's most successful clubs, missing out on the play-offs for the last two years.

However, they saw some improvement under Arthur at the end of last season, and that improvement must continue into the new year with the club looking for it's first piece of silverware since 2020 (Challenge Cup) and first Super League title since 2017. Once again, they have heavily invested, with Jake Connor brought to the club alongside returning favourite Ryan Hall and NRL recruit Maika Sivo in a bid to get back to the top six and potentially the Grand Final for the first time since 2022 under Rohan Smith.

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Wilkin, meanwhile, pulled no punches after reacting to Super League's fixture launch this Thursday morning. Declaring the pressure is on the Rhinos, he said: "Leeds are the story because they’re under pressure from minute one, game one: Ian Blease and Brad Arthur are under pressure."

He continued: "They’ve been useless for six years, five or six years. They’ve got resources coming out of their ears, and the club is exceptional off the field, but I tell you now, where they’ve been is just not good enough.

"They know that. If there’s one group of fans when we go around the stadiums in a year who support some things we said, it's them. It’s just how poor Leeds have been."

However, Wilkin is expecting a fired-up Leeds team next season after some intense post-season training. The Rhinos carried on training for a few weeks after the regular rounds last season, with the pundit labelling the intensity of the training as 'disgusting.'

In his view, that will gear Leeds up for next year, with Arthur set to bring two crucial components to the squad. Wilkin added: "Brad Arthur said he’s going to change the mentality and get them rock-hard fit.

"They didn’t have time off after their last game last year; they trained through to the Grand Final. And not just trained, they got hammered. I’m talking the most disgusting physical training. I’d expect to see a fit Leeds and a disciplined Leeds."

The Rhinos finished eighth last season and open their 2025 account against Wakefield Trinity at Headingley. Their full fixture list can be found here.

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