Sinfield signs new Leeds deal

Correspondent

Leeds Rhinos skipper Kevin Sinfield has handed his side a timely boost ahead of this Friday’s clash with Harlequins RL by agreeing a new four year deal with the club, meaning he will spend his entire playing career at Headingley Carnegie.

The new deal will take the 30-year-old through until the end of the 2014 season. He is the most successful captain in the club’s history and is closing in on Lewis Jones’ all time points scoring record for the club. The Welsh legend amassed 2920 points whilst Sinfield is currently 370 points behind in second place.

Commenting on the deal, Sinfield said, “I have always been proud and honoured to play for Leeds and especially to captain this great club. I am delighted to have agreed a new four year deal which will mean I will have spent my entire professional career here. We have something very special at Leeds and it is something that you can not put a price or transfer fee on. We have been fortunate to enjoy a lot of success in recent years but even when things have not gone our way, we stick together as a club, both on and off the field and that means a lot. We have a very professional set up and the club are careful to bring in the right people to fit into our organisation.”

“It is good to have started the new season with two wins from our opening two games but we know we still have a lot of work to do. We are looking forward to being back at Headingley Carnegie on Friday night in front of our own fans. They have been tremendous supporters of the team and myself during my time at the club and that was certainly a factor when I committed myself to the Rhinos,” added Sinfield.

Head Coach Brian McDermott spoke of his admiration for his skipper. He added, “I know in recent times other clubs have named stands or stadiums after great players or there have been examples of statues being made to commemorate great achievements. However, none of that would do justice to what Kevin Sinfield has done for this club already, you can only imagine what could happen over the next four years.

“He is spoken about in such high regard by his fellow professionals that it is obvious how talented he is. But he is someone who embodies all the qualities we look for in a player, both on and off the field. He has often spoken of his pride at being captain of our club however I would say that we should be proud that he is our captain and that he has spent his entire career as a Rhino, long may that continue,” added McDermott.