Jamie Jones-Buchanan is expecting a fierce clash between his beloved Leeds Rhinos and Hull FC on Friday night – insisting that the Black and Whites will be ‘coming to get us.’ The Yorkshire rivals meet at Headingley in round 11 of Super League, with both sides gunning for a victory as they look to keep hold of their current play-off positions.
And for JJB, now a director at the club, there is added incentive for both sides – with the former Rhino sharing his experiences of the rivalry – ones he first saw in 2002 during a Hull vs New Zealand game at the Boulevard, the last professional rugby league match at the famous Airlie Street venue.
Also outlining his thoughts on the Black and Whites, who have dipped over the last month with three straight defeats to their name, the Sky Sports pundit has labelled the club as ‘interesting’ with some ‘dangerous’ players at their disposal.
Speaking on Leeds Rhinos’ official club podcast, Jones-Buchanan said: “They’ve been really interesting for me this year, Hull FC. They’ve had some golden moments, and they’ve got some players that are really standing out – Herman Ese’ese, for example. They’re dangerous, and certainly through the middle, they’ve got some big boys that take some stopping.
“They’ve also got former Rhino Aidan Sezer – he is teaming up well with Cade Cust, who is probably playing as good as he’s played in Super League. Then they’ve got (Jordan) Rapana at the back, who can be exceptionally dangerous. They’re finding their feet. They’ve got some good formulas, they’re enthusiastic and they believe in a lot of what they’re doing.
“They’ll be a threat, and they’ll be a challenge, but we listen to our boys and to Brad Arthur, and it’s focusing on what we can do and making those incremental gains building on the performance at Magic Weekend. It should be a great spectacle.”
Leeds won two of the three meetings between the two sides last season. However, Hull’s victory in June – one that ended an 11-game losing run – was the final straw for former head coach Rohan Smith, who departed the club after the Rhinos’ defeat.
Jones-Buchanan, meanwhile, is anticipating another fiery instalment of a passionate rivalry – one set to be coached by two Aussie coaches who have made vast improvements to their sides: Brad Arthur and John Cartwright.
He continued: “They always provide great opposition, and it’s always been a big rivalry. They don’t like us – they don’t like Hull KR either.
“In fact, I once went to a game; it was a Hull vs New Zealand game at the Boulevard. The first song was ‘We all hate Hull KR’, and then the second was ‘We all hate Leeds.’ It’s fascinating; even back then, culturally, like after Hull KR, we’re the next worst team, so they’ll be coming to get us.
“They’ll believe in themselves, and they’ll be coming to upset us. We need to put our best foot forward and build for the rest of the season.”