{"id":581511,"date":"2025-11-20T01:10:24","date_gmt":"2025-11-20T01:10:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/581511\/"},"modified":"2025-11-20T01:10:24","modified_gmt":"2025-11-20T01:10:24","slug":"leeds-rhinos-contract-situation-as-2026-retention-priority-becomes-clear-and-15-decisions-to-be-made","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/581511\/","title":{"rendered":"Leeds Rhinos contract situation as 2026 retention priority becomes clear and 15 decisions to be made"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Leeds\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Leeds Rhinos have been busy over the last few weeks as they prepare for the 2026 Super League season.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Rhinos have announced the signings of Jeremiah Mata\u2019utia and Ethan O\u2019Neill over the last week or so, with at least one more signing still to be announced in the shape of Danny Levi. Contracts have also been handed out with Cooper Jenkins the most recent player to be tied down for the long-term.<\/p>\n

However, the next few months look set to be vital for Leeds<\/a>, with a raft of senior players entering the final 12 months of their contracts at Headingley.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s a look at Leeds Rhinos\u2019 contract situation at things stand.<\/p>\n

Leeds Rhinos contract situation assessed<\/p>\n

2026: Ryan Hall, Kallum Watkins, Harry Newman, Brodie Croft, James McDonnell, Keenan Palasia, Cameron Smith, Jarrod O\u2019Connor, Jake Connor, Chris Hankinson, Alfie Edgell, Ned McCormack, Max Simpson, Toby Warren, Jeremiah Mata\u2019utia.<\/strong><\/p>\n

As mentioned above, the next few months could be absolutely pivotal for the Rhinos with some key men to sign up before they become available for other clubs to talk to on December 1.<\/p>\n

Jake Connor is arguably the biggest name on this list. The reigning Man of Steel signed a two-year deal when he joined from Huddersfield Giants and Leeds will be keen to wrap up his future sooner rather than later.<\/p>\n

The 31-year-old\u2019s performances made plenty sit up and pay attention and his availability won\u2019t go under the radar. He has attracted interest from the NRL in years gone by and while his age might work against him, it wouldn\u2019t be a surprise if some Aussie outfits took another look.<\/p>\n

Wrapping up the futures of Harry Newman and James McDonnell feels like a no brainer for Leeds, while Keenan Palasia\u2019s first year in blue and amber was impressive enough to ensure he won\u2019t be short of interest should his contract tick down.<\/p>\n

Cam Smith and Jarrod O\u2019Connor are homegrown lads who will be keen to stay on at Headingley, while Alfie Edgell surely won\u2019t be short of interest either.<\/p>\n

Decisions will be made later in the season on the likes of Ryan Hall and Kallum Watkins, while much might depend on how Brodie Croft starts the season.<\/p>\n

2027: Maika Sivo, Tom Nicholson-Watton, Ben Littlewood, Fergus McCormack, Lachie Miller.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Eyes will be on Maika Sivo this year after spending last season on the sidelines and as clich\u00e9 as it is, he could be like a new signing for the Rhinos. Lachie Miller\u2019s future may come into focus later in the year, too, with the full-back coming off a remarkable campaign at Headingley.<\/p>\n

Having the futures of Nicholson-Watton, Littlewood and McCormack wrapped up is a positive.<\/p>\n

2028: Mikolaj Oledzki, Presley Cassell, Tom Holroyd, Ethan O\u2019Neill, Cooper Jenkins.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Securing Jenkins for three more seasons is a smart move and the addition of O\u2019Neill on a long-term deal looks to be savvy, too. Cassell appears to be a star in the making and if he can establish himself in Arthur\u2019s plans this year, he might just end up signing fresh terms to reflect just how highly he is thought off.<\/p>\n

2029: Riley Lumb, Ash Handley<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ash Handley will spend the remainder of his peak years with Leeds, while Riley Lumb will be with Leeds until he reaches the verge of his. The 20-year-old is highly thought of and he\u2019ll be expected to kick on and become a key man over the next four years.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Leeds Rhinos have been busy over the last few weeks as they prepare for the 2026 Super League…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":581512,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4102],"tags":[4151,79,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-581511","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-rugby","8":"tag-rugby","9":"tag-sports","10":"tag-uk","11":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115579364227555256","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/581511","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=581511"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/581511\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/581512"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=581511"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=581511"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=581511"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}