Jake Connor Resorgence? How Brad Arthur’s Leeds Rhinos can get the best out of Maverick | Rugby league news
Jake Connor is a player who had a career full of “what if”, which is advertised as one of the big stars for the future, but then they feel the weight of pressure on him.
After his time at Hull FC from 2017 to 2022, where he made 142 appearances, Connor returned to Huddersfield Giants in 2023.
However, the club in which he originally started his career of Super League, he could not seem to be best drawn to the best, at one point, one of the most bright chances of sports, which led a 30-year-old to join Leeds Rhinos for the 2025 season.
While skills, flair and knowledge of the game are here for Connor, Rhinos Chief Coach Brad Arthur spent his time in the preseason, ensuring that Connor fully understands what his teammates need from him and how he can perform at his best.
Indeed, these conversations started with very difficult, and Arthur honestly told Connor that he was not in good shape at that moment, where he would play for his side, the first week of the Super League came.
“I love the victory and I do not like pain for the loss – but the only thing I love in training is to get an opportunity to improve players and work with those guys who are a bit of a project,” Arthur told Sky Sports’ The Bench Podcast.
“I’m trying to be proud of that and that’s probably where my strength was like a coach.
“There is not much that I have to worry or learn, he understands the game, but only he understands what his teammates will appreciate more than him in his game.
“It’s about his areas of effort, his physicality, as he fits into them, he plays with his team, not himself. I think we will see the benefit of this year.
“He bought everything in everything, and I made some real difficult conversations. The first conversation was,” I think you’re not fit enough and I don’t think you will be in the first week. “
“He said,” No worries, thank you for honesty, I’ll make sure I do something about it. “I loved it.
“Then at Christmas time I said, ‘I think you improved, but I still don’t think you are there.” For his merit, he worked hard and sometimes the boys saw a lot of good things than they saw some things they didn’t were happy and had conversations with him.
“But only his ability to accept it for what he is and realize that everyone is just trying to make me better. I hope he will have a good year because of his name.”
‘It is inconsistent and we want to achieve’
Although Arthur has not been trained in the Super League for a long time, he is aware that Connor had a career full of IFS, Buts and Maybes.
Now, with rhinos, it is a goal for the club and a player for him to still be sensitive to improvement so that everyone gets the best of each other.
“I think this is an opportunity to get the best out of yourself,” Arthur added.
“Obviously, it’s a very good player there. This is all from the report, but I was told that he had gone through his career all the way.
“I think he enjoys a team where he doesn’t have to do anything, and there is no weight on the shoulders.
“I think it will help him, he is a great guy and he was sensitive to everything we were trying to do.
“I told him,” Sometimes I need to actually listen to me when I talk and don’t need to have an answer for me. “
“He understands the game so well, but sometimes I need to just listen, leave, think, and then come back with your answer.
“We just keep drilling and that’s what’s best for that.”
You can watch Leeds Rhinos get the Super League campaign on Saturday 15th February against Wakefield Trinity, live on Sky Sports at 15:00. Sky Sports Will again display every match of the Super League Live this season – including two matches in each round exclusively live, with the remaining four matches each week shown on Sky Sports+
