Leeds Rhinos’ key recruitment priorities following off-season exits

Leeds Rhinos face a much harder off-season than they would have initially thought, following the departures of Andy Ackers and James Bentley, while Jack Sinfield also looks set to be headed out the exit door too. 

These departures, coupled with the already confirmed exits of Morgan Gannon, Sam Lisone, Matt Frawley, Ethan Clark-Wood, Chris Hankinson, Joe Shorrocks, and Jack Smith now create major holes within the Rhinos squad that need to be filled sooner rather than later.

Leeds do still have a very strong squad heading into 2026. The spine will still feature 2025 Man of Steel Jake Connor, Brodie Croft, Lachie Miller and Jarrod O’Connor, while current England internationals Kallum Watkins and Mikolaj Oledzki feature in a fearsome pack alongside Keenan Palasia, Cooper Jenkins and Tom Holroyd.

Yet, these fresh departures give Leeds a few holes in their squad for next season, but which ones should they prioritise? Here’s our take on just that.

Back-row

The departure of Bentley and Gannon from Headingley this off-season makes the back-row Arthur’s most pressing recruitment issue.

Again, Leeds do have good stock here. Dream Team member James McDonnell will likely command a starting role, Kallum Watkins could shift over into the back-row too and Ben Littlewood and Toby Warren are also pushing through the ranks, but you still feel an extra body is needed just to add that extra depth in this area.

Arthur has been fairly open about wanting his back-rowers to play full 80 minutes in order to have more middles on the bench, but that could wear an already thin unit down a lot. But, adding someone in here, ideally a first-team starter or even a quota player, would alieviate that issue.

Penrith Panthers ace Scott Sorensen has seen his name thrown about with a move to Super League in 2026, with St Helens a touted destination, but he could also be a good match for Leeds.

Utility ball-player

Rumours have emerged that Danny Levi is on his way to Headingley for 2026, but even with that a utility ball-player could be a really clever signing from Arthur. The Wakefield Trinity-linked Sinfield was a great example of that, tasting minutes at both hooker and half-back in 2025, and someone like that would add a nice dynamic to the Rhinos’ wider squad.

Again, it would only really be needed to add some extra depth and competition to the squad, with the player likely to sit third in the pecking order for both positions, but that would give them a nice buffer in both positions were an injury to occur.

Of the options currently available, ex-Penrith Panthers man Zach Dockar-Clay fits that mould perfectly.

Should they not bring a player of that ilk in, youngster George Brown is highly thought of at the Rhinos and could also fit that role if needed to get some first-team minutes under his belt.

Front-row

The departure of Sam Lisone is a huge blow to the Rhinos pack, and even with youngsters Presley Cassell and Tom Nicholson-Watton likely to feature more often this year, you feel Leeds need to bring in an extra body to fill that void.

Prop is one of those positions you can afford to have plenty of in your squad, given the load they take on both sides of the ball, so while they have some strong options in their unit already, just adding an extra body will help with rotation throughout the season.

But, Lisone also had such a specific role in this Leeds pack. Being deployed from the bench in the first-half, Lisone’s role was to just chuck a hand grenade into the game and get his side on the front-foot, and it was a role he mastered. That in itself is such a tough thing to replace, but given it was a role that Leeds needed a lot last year they need to do so ASAP.

Huddersfield Giants prop Oliver Wilson and QLD Cup ace Jeremiah Matautia have both been linked with a move to Headingley for next season.

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