Leeds Rhinos' Jarrod O'Connor on backing Rohan Smith, wanting to start and big games v Catalans and St Helens

Rhinos will aim for a third successive win when they face Catalans Dragons in Perpignan on Saturday. They then have a weekend off before travelling to St Helens 13 days later and the next two games will be “a really good test to see where we’re at now”, according to the 22-year-old forward.

Rhinos began the weekend seventh in Betfred Super League with 10 of the 27 rounds completed and Smith has come under fire from some fans who feel they should be higher on the ladder. But the six teams above them were just two points better off and O’Connor insisted: “The squad we’ve got is going in the right direction.”

He said: “Rohan is doing a really good job bringing all the young lads through. I think we can see from their performances they are flourishing.

“Rohan has done a lot for the club since he came in and we all know the direction he is trying to go in. Fans don’t see all the things coaches do; he looks after all the lads and he’s a really good man-manager. That’s what all the lads love about him, we are 100 per cent all behind him and ready to go forward.”

O’Connor has played in every game since Smith took charge two years ago, but last Friday’s 46-8 win against London Broncos was his first start this season. Pre-season signing Andy Ackers switched to the bench and O’Connor reflected: “I really enjoyed it.

“It’s the position I want to be in and the competition between me and Ackers is helping us both. You could tell when he came on the field he really sped up the game.

“The first 20 minutes was more of a line speed focus and trying to pin them in their half. I don’t think they got out of their half, which was obviously a really big positive for us.”

O’Connor’s game time as a substitute has been split between hooker and loose-forward, which means he and Ackers have often been on the field together. “I think sometimes having that bit of extra speed around the middle helps,” O’Connor said. “Some of the big lads don’t really like defending the smaller lads who can get through gaps a bit more so sometimes it helps speed the game up.”

O’Connor is hoping for more starts this season, including in Saturday’s game in France. He admitted: “That’s obviously my number one aim, to start, but between me and Ackers there’s a role one of us has got to do which is to bring an impact off the bench. I know no matter which one of us it is, we are going to support the other and do a really good job, which I think we have done really well for the past two weeks.”

O’Connor was a loose-forward earlier in his career and took that role in the first half against London when captain Cameron Smith switched to stand-off. “I still enjoy it,” he said of locking the scrum.

“Nine is my favourite position at the minute, where I see my career going the most, but I can do a job at 13, I feel and that’s what I’ve been doing the past few weeks. It also helps me stay on the field a bit longer, which I am happy about, especially when I am starting. I can slot in that 13 role when we want to speed up a bit.”

Though Leeds’ successive wins have come against the competition’s bottom two, Hull FC and London, O’Connor stressed: “I thought it [last Friday] was a good step in the right direction, a lot better than the past few weeks - especially with our line speed and keeping them in their half.

“People will say ‘it’s London’, but they have nothing to lose and they throw the ball about so it was a good test for us. I thought we stepped up really well.

“The young lads coming in provided a lot of energy and we all knew the job and stuck to it. Last week was a good game to lead into [facing Catalans] and I’m sure on Saturday if we have the same energy we’ll get the win.”