Eight Leeds Rhinos players on notice as fresh contract situation moves into focus

As we begin the slow roll to the 2025 season, the art of roster construction for 2026 begins and for eight Leeds Rhinos players, that’s major news.

Since the appointments of both Brad Arthur and Ian Blease at the Headingley club, there have been a swathe of changes with nine players exiting and a further four signings in addition to the previously announced return of Ryan Hall.

Among those nine exits was the recent release of some key first-team players including the trio of 2024 signings Justin Sangare, Mickael Goudemand and Paul Momirovski.

All three men had signed two-year deals and thus were supposed to see their contract expire at the end of 2025 but they’ve all departed a year early.

Momirovski’s exit has allowed the Rhinos to sign Fijian international Maika Sivo with the winger set to reunite with former Parramatta Eels head coach Brad Arthur when he arrives in Leeds.

Despite the early exit of the aforementioned trio, there still remain eight players whose contracts expire at the end of the 2025 season meaning they’ll be playing for a new deal in the upcoming campaign.

Eight Leeds Rhinos men in contract limbo

On that list of eight men are two overseas players in Matt Frawley and Sam Lisone with the pair seemingly reinvigorated when Arthur arrived at Headingley.

Despite that, Leeds Rhinos have since signed Jake Connor who could well be a threat to Frawley in the halves. Connor appears to have signed as a replacement for Paul Momirovski but his versatility is one of his best traits.

Lisone isn’t the only forward whose deal expires at the end of the 2025 season with six others fighting for contract renewals. England internationals Mikolaj Oledzki and James McDonnell top the list, whilst Ireland international James Bentley is another high-profile name.

Joining them are three youngsters in Morgan Gannon, Tom Holroyd and Tom Nicholson-Watton, however, 20-year-old Gannon has not played for Leeds Rhinos since August 2023 with a series of concussions meaning the club opted to give him a prolonged recovery time.

As such, both Holroyd and Nicholson-Watton have leapt above him in the pecking order with the duo playing five and seven games respectively in 2024.

Leeds Rhinos recently signed two overseas forwards with both Cooper Jenkins and Keenan Palasia arriving on two-year deals and with so many forwards off-contract at the end of 2025, it’s unclear how many will be kept on.

Leeds Rhinos players off contract at the end of the 2025 season

James Bentley
Matt Frawley
Morgan Gannon
Tom Holroyd
Sam Lisone
James McDonnell
Tom Nicholson-Watton
Mikolaj Oledzki