Leeds Rhinos star James McDonnell opens up on Perth Bears NRL move, vows to go out of Super League with a bang

The second-rower is in the final year of his Rhinos deal and will join new club Perth Bears in the southern hemisphere NRL next season. McDonnell described the opportunity in Australia as too good to turn down, but insisted there’s unfinished business with Leeds first.

The 26-year-old, who is currently on the casualty list with an ankle injury, is one of three Rhinos players to sign elsewhere for 2027, alongside fellow Perth recruit Harry Newman and Wakefield Trinity-bound Cameron Smith. “They all understood my decision and understood it was probably the right time for me to go if I was going to go,” he said of his teammates’ reaction. Given this opportunity, they all understand it’d be a tough one to turn down. That was a nice attraction to go to Perth, to have that link with Harry going there. I played alongside him every single game last year, so it was definitely a bonus.”

Both McDonnell and Rhinos took a leap of faith when he signed ahead of the 2023 season. He joined Leeds from hometown club Wigan, having spent most of the previous season on loan at Leigh in the Betfred Championship and at that stage, playing in the NRL was the furthest thing from his mind. He added: “It’s not really something I’ve always wanted to do. Being a rugby fan when I was younger, it wasn’t really something I looked towards.

“I’m not even sure I was aware of it when I was playing amateur rugby in Wigan, but when you get into systems like Wigan’s and you see people coming over from the NRL and becoming legends at those clubs, it turns your notice to it a bit. I’ve had to fight for my place in first team rugby and I didn’t really feel it was a prospect for me until the last year or so.

“I started hearing a bit of interest and I think it’s becoming more common now for English players to go and test themselves in Australia. I think more players will try it. The last couple of years have set the trend and I think the trend will continue, English players going over there and testing themselves and performing really well. There’s some really good English lads in the NRL and they aren’t dipping their toe in, they are starting every week.”

McDonnell had an outstanding season in 2025, being named in the Betfred Super League Dream Team and England training squad, but reckons he hasn’t yet reached his peak. “There’s a lot to build on from last year, with the ball and other aspects of my game,” he stated.

“I think I can go to another level and be even more use to the team. I am fully committed to this year. I think I’d be really disappointed to leave Leeds after what will have been four years and not come away with any silverware or any accolades team-wise. I am full steam ahead for this year.”

Of the early announcement, McDonnell added: “It is good to get the news out before the season starts. The hype around it will have died down by the start of the season and I can concentrate and be fully committed to this team. The minimum standard for us is to get to finals and win them. To come up short last year makes us even hungrier.”

Rhinos have things to prove this year. Last season’s fourth-place finish was their best since 2017, but the campaign ended on a sour note in a controversial, last-gasp play-off loss to bogey club St Helens.

“That’s behind us now,” McDonnell stressed. “It was the last thing we did last year and we didn’t review the game at all so we had a little look at it and what went wrong when we first came back. We are correcting that now - it was a concentration error, rather than a lack of effort or attitude.”