Cross-code former Leeds youngster seals transfer across Championship move for 2027
Dylan Proud in action for Keighley Cougars in 2026
Former Leeds Rhinos youngster Dylan Proud has sealed a move from Keighley Cougars to fellow Championship outfit Rochdale for 2027, penning a one-year deal with the Hornets.
A rugby union convert, Proud played the 15-a-side code for Bradford Salem in his youth before joining community league side Siddal.
Picked up by Super League heavyweights Leeds at under-16s level, the outside-back went on to represent the Rhinos at scholarship and academy levels before departing Headingley on the back of a Reserves Grand Final triumph this time last year.
Proud – who turned 22 earlier this week – enjoyed a year with Keighley and will now move across the Pennines to Rochdale for 2027.
‘Dylan’s signing is a real coup for Rochdale, and he’s a player Gary Thornton and I were really keen to add to our group’
The former Rhinos young gun is also able to slot in at full-back if required, but was deployed almost entirely as a centre throughout 2026 by Keighley alongside featuring on the wing in a handful of games.
Proud clocked up 15 appearances across all competitions for the Cougars in 2026, scoring five tries in the process – including one against new club Rochdale.
He said: “I’m very happy to get the deal with Rochdale sorted.
“Once I had spoken to (Hornets head coach) Gary Thornton, it was a no-brainer for me as it just felt right. I can’t wait to get started and be in and amongst it.
“I’m looking to putting my best foot forward and playing to the best of my ability when given the opportunity.”
Both Keighley and Rochdale were among the sides promoted up from League 1 into the newly-merged Championship ahead of this season.
The Cougars finished 16th, with the Hornets 15th – two competition points better off come the end of the campaign.
Rochdale chairman Andy Mazey added: “Dylan was a very targeted piece of recruitment that we moved early on, as we knew Tommy Ashton would be retiring and Dan Nixon was moving on.
“We wanted to bring in quality, not only to replace the departing players, but to improve us going into 2027.
“Dylan is equally at home in the centres or as a winger, and is a very strong ball-carrier and aggressive defender who’s come through a fantastic Leeds system and still has his best years ahead of him.
“Dylan’s signing is a real coup for Rochdale Hornets, and he’s a player Gary Thornton and I were really keen to add to our group.”
