Leeds Rhinos' James McDonnell confirms semi-final return, makes 'leave on a high' pledge ahead of NRL move

The second-rower has missed Leeds’ last four games because of a pectoral muscle injury, but is set to return in next Friday’s AMT Headingley showdown. Rhinos will learn their opponents on Saturday evening.

McDonnell has featured 22 times this season and is his side’s joint-third highest try scorer, with 12, so his comeback will be a huge boost for the biggest game of the campaign so far. He said: “I am feeling good, it has come on really well.

“I was chomping at the bit to play in the Wigan game a couple of weeks back, but it was probably a week too early for me so we decided to ease back on the recovery process I was going through and the contact, to build it back up for the semi-final. Not playing [against Hull FC] last week just gave me a bit more time.

“I imagine, playing in the semi-final, it is going to be sore after the game, but I am going to do everything I can to get through it and then it’s a quick turnaround into a Grand Final. With the added motivation of a Grand Final I’ll get through it no problem, but that Hull FC game probably would have had a bearing on my recovery a little bit. It has been a bit of a luxury to miss it and hopefully the decision pays off.”

McDonnell was originally due to play against Wigan two weeks ago, but withdrew following the final training session. He admitted: “It was a tough call to make. We had done a lot to try and get it right.

“It felt fine, but when it came to the final test it just didn’t quite feel right so I spoke up and made the decision, with the physios, it wasn’t going to be that week or the FC game either. It was a tough decision to make, but I think it was the right decision.”

Rhinos have won only one of the four matches McDonnell has missed and he conceded: “It has been frustrating to watch - games are hard to watch when you haven’t got the influence you want to have. You feel a bit useless really; you still go and talk to the boys at training, but you’ve no influence on the game.”

The Betfred Super League semi-final will be McDonnell’s last appearance at Headingley as a Rhinos player before he joins new club Perth Bears in the southern hemisphere NRL next season. The 26-year-old moved to Rhinos from hometown club Wigan Warriors ahead of the 2023 campaign and has become a mainstay of the pack, earning successive Dream Team selections.

“I didn’t expect it this time, but I am very grateful,” he said of this year’s honour. “I am really enjoying Super League at the minute - the way we’ve gone this year is going to make it much harder to leave Leeds.

“It [his Headingley farewell] is going to be emotional. It’s not just the people I’ve been playing with; obviously that’s the biggest part of my life, really, but there’s also life outside of rugby league and I’ve met a load of great people in Leeds, people who have helped me come on as a person and who have been there for me. It has been a great four years in Leeds so far and I want to finish on a high and leave with some silverware.”