Smith's teenage dream becomes reality

Rohan Smith realised at a relatively younger age than most of contemporaries that coaching was where his future lay, although the signs were perhaps always there for the new Leeds Rhinos chief.

Being around rugby league his whole life as the son of - among other clubs - former Hull FC, Bradford Bulls and Wakefield Trinity head coach Brian Smith and nephew of one of his predecessors in the top job at Leeds and now rival Betfred Super League head coach Tony Smith meant he was perhaps pre-ordained to be involved in the sport anyway.

But whereas others in their teens dreamt of lifting trophies or representing their country as players, the younger Smith was already targeting becoming a head coach, including never being afraid to tell his uncle where he was going wrong during the current Hull Kingston Rovers boss' playing days back in Australia as half-back for St George Dragons.

"I was surrounded by coaching and in the dressing room from a young age and listening to coaches speak and having chats in the car," Smith said.

"I remember driving home maybe as a 10 or 11-year-old when I was a ball-boy at St George telling Uncle Tony how he should have played in the game thinking I was an expert.

"When I was playing with my mates, I loved playing footy, but I was always trying to help them to play better footy and didn't really have that selfish gene to think I needed to knuckle down and do it myself.

"I was 18 when I started teaching swimming at university to make some money, and I was teaching four to six-year-olds swimming eight or 10 metres, and that was probably when I really knew helping people to learn skills was something I was really passionate about."

Over the past two decades, Smith has amassed an impressive coaching CV