Leeds Rhinos sporting director Ian Blease is hopeful that Lachie Miller will be fit enough to feature in round one.
Miller continues to struggle with the hamstring injury that saw him miss the Rhinos’ last two games of the 2024 campaign. It was a mixed first season in West Yorkshire for the full-back, who impressed enough to claim seven tries and 24 assists but couldn’t help the club secure a play-off place.
The 30-year-old will be determined to help Brad Arthur’s side push towards the top six in 2025 then, but it seems he is in a race against time to be fit in time for the start of the season in February.
Miller will be assessed by the club’s medical staff this week after a break, but his chances of featuring in the Rhinos’ first game of the year depend on his rate of progress over the coming weeks.
“He is having PRP (platelet rich plasma) injections,” Blease told Serious About RL’s sister site the Yorkshire Evening Post. “He is back in the country now so we’ll monitor him and he’ll start running in the next few weeks.”
“Hopefully we’ll look at the start of the season, but you just don’t know. It depends how he reacts to the treatment. It’s too early, but with these type of injuries it depends how he is as a person and how he reacts to treatment. At this stage, we are cautiously optimistic, but we’ll see how it goes.”
Having featured for the Australian rugby sevens side at the 2020 Olympics, Miller only made his first grade debut in the 13-man code in 2022. That came with Cronulla Sharks before he went on to spend a season with Newcastle Knights.
He joined the Rhinos ahead of the 2024 season and instantly locked down the full-back role, making 26 appearances in total last season. He has fresh competition for the number one spot, though, with Jake Connor making the switch from Huddersfield Giants to add competition for places to Arthur’s squad.
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