Leeds Rhinos 'always looking' at player market but supremo says retaining existing squad is priority
Leeds Rhinos will consider making another signing if the right player becomes available, sporting director Ian Blease has confirmed.
Rhinos were granted dispensation on their overseas quota following Maika Sivo’s season-ending injury and last week signed Australian centre Ethan Clark-Wood to fill that space, on a one-year deal. There is still room on the salary cap and Blease would not rule out another addition.
“We are always on the look out,” Blease told the Yorkshire Evening Post. “Thankfully, we’ve got superb owners in the Caddicks and they are fully supportive of what we are trying to achieve, so if we - myself and Brad [Arthur, Rhinos’ coach] - see anything we like, we’ll have a look at it.”
Blease, though, stressed the current squad is top of his in tray. Alongside Clark-Wood, overseas duo Matt Frawley and Sam Lisone are both in the final year of their contract, with James Bentley, James McDonnell, Morgan Gannon and Tom Holroyd in a similar situation. Ryan Hall rejoined Leeds in pre-season on a deal which includes an option for 2026.
Rhinos would like to keep most if not all of that cohort, though when Fijian winger Sivo returns to the overseas quota, an import will have to make way. “Retaining our existing players is important for us as a club to do, first and foremost,” Blease said.
“There’s negotiations going on at the moment about that. We’ve got one eye on others for next year, depending on how our existing player recruitment goes. People have got to play well, because we’ve not made the play-offs for the last two years. It has obviously not been going in the right direction, but I am confident with the existing squad we’ve got we can change that this year.”
Rhinos travel to Blease’s previous club, Salford Red Devils, on Saturday looking to get off the mark in Betfred Super League following a 14-12 home loss to Wakefield Trinity seven days earlier. That was a shock after a positive pre-season and Blease stressed form on the field will be the biggest factor in determining if players are retained “Gone are the days when we just keep players,” he said. “We need to get the right players who want to play for us - I am really keen on that.”
Sivo is on a three-year contract and will be back on the cap and quota when he returns to the field in 2026. It is understood to be the first time an overseas player has been temporarily crossed off following a pre-season injury.
Blease explained: “We had to write to the RFL and request it as it wasn’t in the operational rules. Thankfully they did the right thing and sanctioned it and gave us dispensation.”