Rohan Smith (rugby league)

Rohan Smith (born 6 May 1981) is an Australian rugby league coach who is head coach of Leeds Rhinos and a former head coach of Tonga, the Bradford Bulls and the Norths Devils.[2][3]

Rohan Smith
Personal information
Born (1981-05-06) 6 May 1981
Height5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Weight14 st 0 lb (89 kg)
Coaching information
Club
Years Team Gms W D L W%
2016–17 Bradford Bulls 20 14 0 6 70
2018–22 Norths Devils 48 27 0 21 56
2022– Leeds Rhinos 42 24 0 18 57
Total 110 65 0 45 59
Representative
Years Team Gms W D L W%
2009 Tonga 3 0 0 3 0
Source: [1]
As of 12 Aug 2022

Background

Smith was born in Australia and his the son of former Australian player and coach Brian Smith and nephew of Tony Smith.[4]

After his father was appointed head coach of the Bradford Bulls in 1995 he moved to England as a teenager and played amateur rugby league for Stanningley ARFLC alongside future Leeds Rhinos player Jamie Jones Buchanan.[5]

Career

Despite playing amateur rugby as a teenager, Smith never played professionally. His first entry to coaching was as Daniel Anderson's video analyst at the New Zealand Warriors when he was 21.

In 2006, Smith returned to England to take up his first coaching role as assistant to Tony Rea at the London Broncos.[6] After two seasons with London Smith returned to Australia to assist his father at the Sydney Roosters and the Newcastle Knights in the NRL.[7][8][9][10]

Smith was appointed head coach of Tonga for three games in 2009 before returning to coaching roles in the NRL at Penrith Panthers and Gold Coast Titans.[11] His first head coach role came in 2016 when he was appointed head coach of Bradford Bulls in the Championship[12] Initially on a three-year deal, Smith's tenure was terminated in January 2017 as Bradford went into liquidation.[12]

Following Bradford liquidation, Smith returned to Australia in 2018 to become the head coach of the Norths Devils in the Queensland Cup.

In April 2022 Smith left the Devils to once more return to England to follow in his uncle Tony's footsteps and coach the Leeds Rhinos[11] Upon Smith's arrival to Leeds, the club went from 11th on the table to 5th which qualified the club for the playoffs. Under Smith, the club won 13 of the 18 matches including upset victories over Catalans and Wigan in the playoffs. On 24 September 2022, Smith coached Leeds in their 24-12 loss to St Helens RFC in the 2022 Super League Grand Final.[13] In the 2023 Super League season, Smith could not replicate what he did in the previous season with Leeds as the club finished 8th on the table and missed the playoffs.[14]

References
  1. Rugby League Project
  2. "Tonga boast star power for Kiwis Test". TVNZ. 8 October 2009. Retrieved 25 November 2008.
  3. "Tonga finalises team to face Kiwis". Parramatta Eels. 13 October 2009. Retrieved 25 November 2008.
  4. "Leeds Rhinos confirm Rohan Smith as new head coach". Rugby League News. 20 April 2022. Retrieved 21 April 2022.
  5. "Rohan Smith". Leeds Live. 21 April 2022. Retrieved 21 April 2022.
  6. Rej, Arindam (26 March 2006). "0-60 in 80 minutes". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 25 November 2008.
  7. "Rohan Smith". Sydney Roosters. 2010. Retrieved 10 March 2010.
  8. "NYC Coaching Staff Profile". Newcastle Knights. 25 November 2008. Retrieved 25 November 2008.
  9. "Mann named to head foundation". New Zealand Herald. 19 March 2003.
  10. "Cullen captures top Kiwi". The Telegraph. 14 July 2004.
  11. Parsons, Mike (20 April 2022). "Wire rivals Leeds Rhinos confirm new head coach". Warrington Guardian. Retrieved 20 April 2022.
  12. "Rohan Smith leaves as new Bradford owners search for head coach". www.yorkshirepost.co.uk. 17 January 2017. Retrieved 20 April 2022.
  13. "St Helens sink Leeds to win record fourth consecutive Grand Final". www.theguardian.com.
  14. "Leeds Rhinos' 2023 season review: picking out the best and worst players, performances, results". www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk.
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