Kruise Leeming: Why I’m as proud as a peacock to be Leeds Rhinos captain

It might sound like a cliche, but I really am so proud to be captain of this great club.

It is hard to put into words how good it was leading the lads out in pre-season; it was a fantastic feeling and to have my mum in the crowd for the Hull game made it even better.

There is a serious job to do this weekend, but I will definitely have a smile on my face and, most importantly, it is nice to know I have got the boys behind me.

Here’s how we did it: We had a points system of one-five and every player put in an anonymous vote for who they wanted to be in the leadership group, then a captain was selected from those votes.

For me to get the captaincy through that method - from my team-mates’ votes - is the best way for me to get it; it means a lot to me that the lads think I am the right person to lead them.

It shows me I have obviously been doing something right, but I haven’t done anything out of the ordinary, I have just come to training, worked as hard as I possibly can, stayed as professional as I possibly can and that’s all I’ll be doing for the rest of the year, keeping up those standards and behaviours and trying to lead us to a Grand Final.

That process started back in November, but we have got a lot of work to do between now and September.

In Super League, it is a tough season and a tough sport and the only way you get to win anything is by working hard.

With the squad we have now, the young kids coming through - who all have an extra year’s experience under their belts - and the players who’ve come in, I am confident we can go all the way and lift some silverware.

We are raring to go and, personally, I can’t wait for Saturday’s game against Warrington.

We have almost a clean bill of health, Jack Walker and Liam Sutcliffe have both got a couple of hit-outs under their belt after their injuries last year and I am comfortable in saying every single person in the squad is ready to play now.

We have trained really hard this pre-season and there’s such a good vibe around the place.

There always is at Leeds, it’s always positive, but there’s more of a hard-nosed approach this year.

In my time here, we’ve always been a good group of lads and always stuck together and got on really well, but this year our aim isn’t just to get into the play-offs or reach semi-finals, it is to win something.

That’s what Leeds Rhinos is all about, it’s what we expect as players, it’s what the coaches expect and what the fans expect. It might be good enough at other clubs to get to semi-finals and that would be classed as a successful year, but not for Leeds Rhinos.

Your first game of the season is always big, but it’s even more important this year because it’s on Channel 4 and, in a way, we - and Warrington - will be representing the sport to a new audience.

I was at Channel 4’s headquarters in Leeds on Monday for a launch of their coverage and I am sure they’ll do a fantastic job.

I think it’s brilliant we are getting extra exposure. I’ve heard there’s over 80 televised rugby league games this year and that is going to propel the sport further.

We will be doing everything we can to show the sport in its best light and I don’t think we need to do much, just go out and play. I have friends who’ve brought people to games who’ve never watched rugby league before and they’ve been blown away.

It is a brilliant sport and, when it gets the right exposure, people will want to watch.