Leeds Rhinos news: Ryan Hall injury extent & replacement revealed as boss talks Matt Frawley's future
Leeds Rhinos coach Brad Arthur has revealed the extent of Ryan Hall’s injury, identified his replacement and commented on the future of a key player.
Speaking at his weekly preview press conference today (Friday), Arthur confirmed veteran winger Hall will miss Saturday’s Magic Weekend showdown with St Helens at St James’ Park - but his injury is not as serious as first feared. Hall, who suffered ankle damage early in last week’s home loss to Hull KR, was named in Rhinos’ initial 21-man squad to face Saints, but won’t play.
Arthur said: “He has tried really hard and that’s a credit to him. I keep talking about how professional he is; he has done everything possible and worked around the clock to try and get on the field, but is probably just a couple of days short. After we get next week off, I think he will be right for the following game.”
The coach added: “He has had scans and it’s just a really bad rolled ankle. The size and colour of it, I thought he was next to no chance at the start of the week, but he has worked really hard. He didn’t want to go out tomorrow and not be able to do his job to the best of his ability.”
As predicted by the Yorkshire Evening Post, Alfie Edgell will replace Hall in the starting side in Newcastle. Arthur said: “Alfie did a good job for us last year. It has been unfortunate for him this year he hasn’t had any opportunities. He trained well in pre-season and then had a broken jaw, which was a shame because he was training so well. When you get an injury, I get excited about the opportunities it presents for someone else.”
Edgell scored six tries in 16 games last year and has been a substitute three times in 2025, including once when he didn’t get on the field. “He’s excited about the opportunity,” Arthur said. “He really kicked on at the back end of last year so he’ll be hoping to pick up where he left off.”
The coach isn’t planning other changes to last week’s team and said Jack Sinfield will continue at scrum-half, having been preferred to Frawley against Hull KR. “Jack did a lot of good things,” he said of the 20-year-old’s performance last week.
“He got a couple of things wrong at the back end of the game, with a couple of kicks, but that’s part of being a young guy and getting experience. They aren’t going to get experience from training, they have to get it from games.
“They are going to get a few things wrong and you have to leave them there and let them have back-to-back games. I told Jack that until Crofty [Brodie Croft] comes back he’ll get these next couple of games so he knew he didn’t have to worry about trying to play to keep the jersey, he just needed to do his job.”
Arthur praised the way Frawley has handled his setback, adding: “It’s tough for him, but he is professional and he’s a good person, which makes it easier. He is disappointed, but he understands and he’ll just go about his work and work hard and if he gets another opportunity he has got to make the most of it.”
Frawley is out of contract at the end of this season and Huddersfield Giants have shown an interest in taking him in a mid-season transfer, though that seems to have fallen through. Of whether the Australian could move on before the end of the campaign, Arthur stressed: “That’s up to him, but at the moment he is not being forced out of the door or anything like that.
“I have picked a team based on what I think was best and form. There’s nothing around that, if something comes up for Matt - a better option - that’s up to him, but there’s no talk of us trying to squeeze him out of the club.”
With no game next weekend, Arthur expects to have stand-off Croft and loose-forward Cameron Smith back for the home meeting with Hull FC on Friday, May 16. He said: “Those guys were pushing to be right this week, but we decided to give it one extra game. We took the cautious approach with those guys. Cameron was really close, but they will be right for the next game.”