Rhodes returned to Newmarket Town for a pre-season friendly game with Brentford in August 2004, during which he scored a hat-trick in a 5–0 win. It helped him to win a place in the first team, and he scored on the first day of the 2004–05 season when Brentford lost 3–1 to Chesterfield. It was not until November 2004 that he scored his second goal in another defeat—2–1 to Bradford City. Five days later, he scored the winning penalty against Bristol City to take Brentford through to the second round of the FA Cup. In December, Rhodes scored in successive games, first in the league against Sheffield Wednesday, then another penalty in the FA Cup as Brentford's 2–1 victory against Hinckley United set up a third round tie with Luton Town. He was unable to play in the third round tie after he suffered a serious knee injury against Walsall in January 2005, which kept him out of action until September 2005. Although Rhodes had been a regular in the Brentford squad, his 22 league games included just four starts.