Leeds Rhinos look on the cusp of better news but they still had to confirm the loss of star centre and former Leigh Leopards man Nene MacDonald.

This was inevitable for some time but still the club needed to make it official and have done so with the centre leaving despite a long term deal.

The fans naturally responded on X.

One supporter summed up the situation quite well: “Nene was a very good player for the Rhinos this year without a doubt, but when he went awol then his contract became untenable in my opinion as examples have to be made.”

Another bemoaned the unimportance of contracts and questioned how the club dealt with it: “Contracts mean fuck all. No backbone from the club in my opinion.”

“Good riddance” was a commonly used phrase: “Good riddance. Signed a long deal knowing he was about to become a Dad. Hopefully Leeds will get a payoff from whichever NRL club he signs for. Glad we’re weeding out some players and leaving the ones that really want to play for the club.”

Another said it was “completely unprofessional”:

“From the outside looked to be completely unprofessional from Macdonald. Left us in the lurch when fighting for playoffs. Joke really. Shame cos he’d been good for us until he pulled that. Sure we’ll never know the full truth. Good riddance, onwards and upwards to better things!”

Nene is set to join Salford Red Devils next year according to reports. This almost makes it a swap deal.

This is despite the fact he recently made a statement that he would be staying at Headingley.

“I came back to Australia for the birth of my child,” he told Post-Courier. “I signed a four-year deal, I’m still there and I don’t know what everyone is saying but I still got a four-year deal.

“I’m still contracted and I haven’t done anything wrong…we (Rhinos) can’t make the finals so I’m staying back and getting the chance to play and it’s just exciting to be back. It’s been too long like 2019 COVID and home and being away in England…miss being here and it’s good to be back home.”