Super League chief calls for salary cap changes to halt NRL player drain
Leeds Rhinos sporting director Ian Blease has addressed Morgan Gannon's possible exit.
Leeds Rhinos sporting director Ian Blease believes British rugby league has to come up with a salary cap solution to halt an increasing number of players going to the NRL.
The Rhinos are bracing themselves to lose star forward Morgan Gannon at the end of this season. He is set to agree a multi-year contract with NRL side New Zealand Warriors after the temptation of moving Down Under proved too much to resist.
A growing number of English players are making the move in recent years and Blease, speaking on the club’s official podcast, admitted while the Rhinos want to retain Gannon, it now is solely the forward’s choice about whether he stays or goes.
But Blease also signalled a warning about the sport needing to devise a solution in the salary cap to try and convince players to remain in Super League.
He said: “I’ve been speaking to Morgan and his management team for the last few months and it will be Morgan’s choice now, but I think the game has got to somehow come up with a solution for this.
“We are losing them and the salary cap is a big difference in Australia. As a professional, do you want to go play in the NRL? Yeah, you probably do, but it’s all about timing and that’s up to Morgan and his management and his family to decide.
“He is a great kid, we don’t want to lose him and we’ve made a substantial offer to him, so hopefully he makes the right decision.”
Blease also revealed that Leeds are monitoring a number of transfer markets for 2026 and beyond: including rugby union.
Christian Wade recently agreed a deal to join Wigan later this summer, a move which will cost the Warriors nothing on the salary cap due to exemptions around players switching codes.
And Blease insisted Leeds are all over the 15-man code for potential talent.
“We employ a consultant to watch the rugby union market for us so he’s busy every week and we’ve had a few looks at players,” Blease said. “That’s an avenue, because they don’t get counted on your salary cap.
“It’s more difficult now to transition, but we have got our eye on that market and some of our academy players have come through the rugby union system. It’s more of a risk now so it has got to be the right person and the right player. We’ve had a look and we’ve been close to one or two.”
