Leeds Rhinos' Ryan Hall hints at surprise career decision: Super League legend considers change of plan
Maths whiz Ryan Hall has crunched the numbers and says they add up to a prime reason for playing on a little longer at Leeds Rhinos.
Hall rejoined Rhinos from Hull KR ahead of last season on a one-year contract which included an option for 2026. He went on to touch down 13 times in 27 games, making him Leeds’ top try scorer for the seventh time in his career.
Twelve months ago the former England man said he was keen to end on an even number and, with this season being his 20th of his professional career, it appeared he was getting ready to call it a day. But now the 38-year-old has revealed he might play on next year and maybe even longer.
He told The Yorkshire Evening Post: “Twenty is a round number, but 21 is divisible by seven and three, so that’s okay. Twenty two is divisible by two and 11, so there’s plenty of round numbers ahead of me.
“I don’t think I can creep into 23 because that’s a prime number, but we’ll assess that as water goes under the bridge. There’s no decision made, there’s still some twists and turns, but 23 is a hairy one so I am either doing 22 or 24!”
One thing is for sure, Hall doesn’t want to play for anyone else. Having come through Rhinos’ system to make his debut in 2007, he established himself as one of the club’s all-time great wingers before leaving at the end of 2018 for two seasons with Sydney Roosters in the southern hemisphere NRL. After joining Hull KR on his return to England, Hall overtook Danny McGuire as Betfred Super League’s all-time leading try scorer and passed the 500-game milestone last year.
Scorer of arguably the most famous try in Rhinos’ history, which sealed their league leaders’ shield triumph in 2015, Hall has legendary status at both his English clubs, but insisted: “I would like to finish at Leeds. When I finish playing, it’ll be at Leeds - that’s my ideal. Sometimes it doesn’t work out like that, but that’s what I’ll be chasing.”
However, Hall stressed he won’t play on for the sake of it. “Hopefully there’ll be some success along the way - it’s not just playing games to rack up a number,” he stated. “It’s not about that, it’s about winning. It always has been about winning and it is still about winning now. It will be a completely mutual decision; if my body is good to go I’ll make that known and if the club want me to continue, that’s fine and we’ll go down that road. But that’s a conversation for later.”
Hall proved as durable as ever last year, missing only three games and confirmed he is going into his milestone campaign in good shape. He added: “I feel pretty similar to how I have done for the past couple of years, at the back end of pre-season. Pre-season has been really good, having some dedicated time to get some fitness before we start. That is working well and I am looking forward to the season.”