Rhinos head coach Smith leaves by mutual consent

Leeds Rhinos have parted company with head coach Rohan Smith by mutual consent after their Super League defeat by lowly Hull FC.

The Rhinos slipped to a third reverse in four games on Saturday as the Black and Whites, who had previously won just once all campaign in the league, claimed an 18-10 win.

Australian Smith had led Leeds to the Grand Final in 2022 after a fine run following his appointment in April of that year.

However, Rhinos could not replicate that showing last season as they missed out on the play-offs with an eighth-placed finish.

Assistant coaches Chev Walker and Scott Grix will lead the team, who sit seventh in the table, in Friday's home game against Leigh.

The Rhinos will be celebrating the life of legendary scrum-half Rob Burrow, who died at the age of 41 with Motor Neurone Disease (MND), before the match and Smith said he did not want ongoing "speculation" about his future to detract from the occasion.

"Friday will be a special night for the club and we wanted to remove the ongoing coaching speculation and distraction," he told the club website., external

"Celebrating Rob's life, the great work done by the club and Kevin Sinfield for the MND community and playing well is the focus for Friday.

"I believe this team can still achieve great things and I am proud of the work that the coaching team have done to develop players, especially the next generations."

The Rhinos are just two points off sixth-placed Catalans with 14 games played.