Leeds Rhinos' close connections to Super League Grand Finalists Hull KR & Wigan Warriors
Leeds Rhinos won’t be gracing the big stage at Old Trafford this weekend, but they have strong connections to the 2024 Grand Finalists.
Last year just one of the 34 players on duty in the Betfred Super League title decider had previously been on the books at Rhinos. On Saturday it could be as many as seven, with four of them having Grand Final experience for Leeds.
Hull KR winger Ryan Hall and hooker Matt Parcell both played in Rhinos’ 2017 Grand Final win over Castleford Tigers. That was Hall’s sixth Old Trafford victory and Saturday will be his final game for the Robins before he returns to Leeds next season. A hero of Rhinos’ 2015 treble success, Hall left Leeds at the end of 2018 to join Sydney Roosters and signed for Hull KR two years later.
Parcell is also set to make his farewell appearance for Rovers, before he returns home to Australia. He was Rhinos’ only representative in the 2017 Dream Team, when they finished second in the table, but was released to join Hull KR midway through 2019.
Rovers captain/loose-forward Elliot Minchella and centre Jack Broadbent both came through Rhinos’ academy system and made their Super League debut in Leeds’ colours. Minchella was a try scorer off the bench in his first Rhinos appearance, aged 17, away to Salford in August, 2013.
He played five times as a substitute the following year, but left Headingley under a cloud following an off-field incident in 2015. He had spells in the second tier with Sheffield Eagles - whose assistant-boss Keith Senior coached him in Rhinos’ youth ranks - and Bradford Bulls before joining Hull KR five years ago.
Broadbent featured three times for Rhinos in 2020 and looked set for big things in blue and amber when he scored nine tries in 14 games the following year. However, he fell out of favour in 2022, playing only five times and signed for Castleford Tigers at the end of that season after spending time on loan with Featherstone Rovers. He joined Rovers, initially on loan, in April - with another ex-Leeds man Corey Hall and Louis Senior moving the other way - and will begin a three-year contract next season. Behind the scenes, Rovers assistant-coach Dany Ward was a member of Leeds’ first Grand Final-winning side, 20 years ago.
Two of Wigan’s initial squad played in Rhinos’ 2022 Old Trafford defeat by St Helens. Kruise Leeming captained Rhinos that day, though he began the final as a substitute. He requested a transfer early the following year and spent time in the NRL with Gold Coast Titans, but signed for Wigan ahead of last season. Walters was also on Leeds’ bench two years ago and turned down the offer of a new contract in favour of joining Wigan this year.
A Wigan victory would mean a second successive Grand Final ring for former Rhinos academy player Tyler Dupree. He was a member of Rhinos’ full-time squad in 2019, but did not make a first team appearance.
He dropped into the Championship with Oldham and then Widnes Vikings before finally making his Super League debut with Salford Red Devils in 2022. Having been capped by England, he was snapped up by Wigan midway through last year and played in the Grand Final win against Catalans Dragons.