Leeds Rhinos news: first 2026 signing confirmed as 'man mountain' forward arrives from NRL club
Leeds Rhinos have confirmed their first signing for the 2026 season.
Six feet five inches tall (1.95 metres) forward Jeremiah Mata’utia has joined them from NRL club North Queensland Cowboys on a 12-month contract, which includes an option in Rhinos’ favour for an extra year. The 21-year-old, who was born in Otahuhu, New Zealand, was a junior star in Australia with Townsville-based Kirwan State High School and made three appearances for the local Blackhawks club in 2023 before joining their Queensland Cup rivals Mackay Cutters.
Playing second-row, prop and off the bench, he featured 26 times for Cutters - 18 of those this year- and was part of Cowboys’ senior squad in 2025, though he has not made an NRL appearance. He effectively replaces Sam Lisone, who has joined Hull FC and Leeds’ management hope he’ll follow in the footsteps of Australian forward Cooper Jenkins who arrived a year ago from the Queensland Cup, with no top-flight experience, but went on to play 24 times in his debut campaign.
Described by Cowboys as a “man mountain”, Mata’utia is now in Leeds ahead of testing on Friday before pre-season training begins next Monday. He said: “I’m really pleased to be part of this club. I have had a warm welcome to England and I can’t wait to rip in and to bring the best of my ability. It was a big decision for me at such a young age; I was still living with my parents so it was hard to say goodbye to them, but having my partner in Leeds with me has made the move that much easier.”
Of what he knows about Rhinos, he added: “I think the crowd gets around the boys a lot and they show a lot of support for the boys. When I spoke to [coach] Brad Arthur about what had happened in 2025, he spoke about the progress the team had made and I really want to be a part of that. To have a coach like Brad to learn a lot from, with his experience in the NRL and Super League, was a big thing for me.
“I’m really keen to learn everything I can. I am looking forward to the experience of playing in front of really big, noisy crowds. I want to bring aggression and impact, whether I am starting or on the bench and do what the team needs from me.”
Welcoming Mata’utia to the club, Arthur said: “He is keen to get started; he knows he has still got a lot of work to do, but I am looking to seeing how he develops over the next year.”
Rhinos’ sporting director Ian Blease feels Mata’utia has potential to match his size. He stated: “We are really pleased to have Jeremiah here, especially with the boys returning for pre-season training later this week. He is a big guy and someone who will add a lot of power to our pack.
“He is still very young, at just 21, but I think - as we saw with Cooper Jenkins last year - working with our coaching team we can give these opportunities to young players from our own academy and overseas and see them flourish in a Rhinos shirt.”