Leeds Rhinos star James McDonnell makes 'next level' pledge, says it's time to put things right v St Helens
Second-rower James McDonnell has come a long way in three years, from Championship bench player for Leigh to the Super League Dream Team with Leeds Rhinos.
Now established among the European game’s best players in his position, McDonnell’s aim is to start winning trophies for Leeds, beginning with a crack at this year’s play-offs. A graduate of Wigan Warriors’ youth system, he spent much of 2022 on loan to Leigh in the Betfred Championship, making all but two of his 17 appearances for them as a substitute, before a pre-season move to Rhinos.
Revealing the mentality behind his rapid rise, he said: “Whatever opportunity I get, it’s just to take it with both hands and make the best of it. I went to Leigh on loan in the Championship as a bench prop, but those were the circumstances at the time and I just wanted to take the game time wherever I could get it.
“That was a big selling point for me at Leeds, to come to a fresh team, have a fresh start and really try to put my own stamp on that position and make my way into the team. I have had some different opportunities in my career, but I have got a great one in front of me now.”
England squad selection showed his efforts haven’t gone unnoticed, but even so, the Dream Team was an unexpected bonus. He admitted: “It’s not something I’d thought about during the year. I‘d seen a bit of stuff recently and had it in the back of my mind, ‘how good would that be’, but it was still a massive surprise to hear I’d made it and a massive honour also.”
McDonnell is ever-present for Rhinos this year and stressed: “Consistency is what I am after and over the last couple of years, being with Leeds, I feel like I have really built that. I’m at a point now where I’ve got that consistency and I can really focus on going to the next level from here. The consistency has been good and that’s something I want to keep up in my game because I want to be on the pitch as often as I can.
“It’s only over the last three years I’ve really had consistent game time. I debuted for Wigan in 2020, but only really started my Super League career in 2023. I only made six appearances over the three years at Wigan and spent time on loan at Leigh and York so I am really hoping to kick on now and start achieving things and leave a bit of my own legacy.”
That could happen this year with Rhinos only two wins away from a Grand Final appearance, but St Helens will present a formidable hurdle in Saturday’s elimination play-off. They haven’t lost to Leeds at AMT Headingley since 2017 and won three of the sides’ four meetings in 2025, but McDonnell reckons this week would be a good time to put that right.
“They’ve had our number a bit this year,” he reflected. “But we’ve got some returning troops who are going to give us a bit of a boost and we know all about them now, we have played them more than anyone else this year. It should be a good game and we are expecting a really tough win.
“We’ve proven we can beat any team in the top-six, we’ve done that this year. We’ve gone back-to-back on multiple occasions and won five in a row twice. Little things we've managed to achieve throughout the year gives us confidence and proves to ourselves we are capable of doing this. Really, it is in our hands to go and do it.”