Departing forward Mikolaj Oledzki has predicted big things ahead for Leeds Rhinos, despite the heartbreaking end to his time at the club.

Oledzki made his 205th and final appearance for Leeds in their 14-12 Betfred Super League semi-final defeat to Warrington Wolves at AMT Headingley. The prop, who made his debut in 2017, will move to Australia next month to begin a new life with NRL outfit Perth Bears.

Like Harry Newman and James McDonnell, who have signed for the same club, 27-year-old Oledzki had his heart set on leaving as a Grand Final winner. That wasn’t to be, but he reckons the club are in safe hands.

An injury-hit side, including four players aged 21 or under, were pipped by a hotly-disputed awarded penalty goal 15 minutes from time and Oledzki insisted: “The disappointment is huge at the moment, not making the Grand Final, but it feels like the club is definitely going in the right direction.”

Mikolaj Oledzki celebrates scoring during Leeds Rhinos' home win against Huddersfield Giants in May. Picture by Alex Whitehead/SWpix.com.

placeholder image — Mikolaj Oledzki celebrates scoring during Leeds Rhinos' home win against Huddersfield Giants in May. Picture by Alex Whitehead/SWpix.com.

He said: What Brad [coach Brad Arthur] is doing with the coaching staff is phenomenal. Every single player can tell you the last two years has been fantastic, playing with Brad. He is developing players and getting the best out of players. Sometimes it is a bit of tough love, but it all comes from the right place.

“I think you can say we’ve all played our best rugby under Brad, whoever played this year. Bleasey [sporting director Ian Blease] as well, what he is doing with signings and the salary cap and how they are building the team, it is all looking great.

“I know the fans will be gutted we didn’t make it to the Grand Final, but next year is exciting because they will keep getting better and better - and we weren’t far off this year. I will definitely be tuning in and rooting for the lads next year.”

Fergus McCormack, seen in action against Warrington Wolves, has a big future, according to Mikolaj Oledzki. Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWpix.com.

Leeds suffered a controversial loss in the 2025 play-offs and Oledzki admitted the mood after this season is similar. “It was a bit of deja vu from last year with the feeling after the game, the disappointment,” he said. “It felt like we had the foundations and the team and we’d done the work to get further this year, but everything that could go wrong in the week did go wrong - all the way up to kick off.

“But you’ve got to give it to the boys who stepped in, some of them for their first Super League in a good few weeks. Like Fergus [McCormack], I thought he played really well, Ned [McCormack] as well - he got the call up 20 minutes before the game and I thought he played really well and Riley [Lumb] carried strong.

“They really did step up on the biggest stage. I am just really disappointed for the boys. The feeling around the place this year has been great, the belief was there that we were going all the way.”

Oledzki added: “The game being decided by a referee and not one of the teams is something else that hurts a bit. I am not going to comment on the penalty, but for it to get decided in the end by a ref call is not what you want, especially in a play-off game. But in rugby league that’s sometimes how the cookie crumbles and we can’t do anything about it now.”