Danny McGuire among ex-Leeds Rhinos quartet to join exclusive group

Two modern greats have become the newest members of Leeds Rhinos’ most exclusive group.

Stand-off Danny McGuire and prop Kylie Leuluai – who were teammates in Rhinos’ treble-winning side a decade ago – are among the latest players inducted into the club’s Hall of Fame.

The other new names, who take the number of inductees to 32, are full-back Frank Young and second-row Bill Ramsey. Young made 159 appearances from 1906-1911 and Ramsey played 197 games between 1967 and 1974.

McGuire, now coach of Castleford Tigers, is the fourth-highest try scorer in Leeds’ history, with 267 touchdowns for his home city club. Only nine players have bettered his 1,075 points in blue and amber and he is 11th on the club’s all-time list of appearances, having played 426 games from 2001-17. The Rhinos academy product featured in eight Grand Final victories and twice won the Harry Sunderland Award as man of the match, including the 2017 title decider when he captained Leeds to an against-the-odds win over Castleford. He also won the Challenge Cup twice and three World Club titles.

Samoan international Leuluai, who now works for Warrington Wolves, is Leeds’ most successful overseas player, having won six Grand Final rings, two World Club titles and the Challenge Cup twice in 265 games between 2007 and 2015. Born in Auckland, he joined Rhinos from Manly Sea Eagles and made his first appearance for Leeds in the treble-clinching 2015 Grand Final win against Wigan Warriors.

Leeds Rhinos greats inducted into Hall of Fame

McGuire and Leuluai are the fourth and fifth 2015 treble winners to be inducted into the Hall of Fame, after Rob Burrow, Kevin Sinfield and Jamie Peacock. The other two players from the Super League era are Barrie McDermott, and Keith Senior.

To be eligible for Rhinos’ Hall of Fame, individuals must have played a minimum of 150 first team games for Leeds, achieved representative honours during their playing career at the club, made an outstanding contribution to the sport and been retired for a minimum of five years, though that could be reduced under exceptional circumstances.

Welshman Young joined Leeds for a £70 signing on fee – plus a bonus of £2 per win – in January, 1906. Known as ‘Bucket’, because of his safe hands, he was a member of Leeds’ first Challenge Cup-winning side, in 1910. He was a Great Britain tourist that year and was the first player to score more than 100 goals for Leeds, ending his career on 122 – though he scored only one try.

Leeds paid Hunslet a £10,000 transfer fee for Ramsey in 1967, two years after he had played at Wembley for the Parksiders. He was a Challenge Cup winner with Leeds when Wakefield Trinity were beaten in the 1968 Watersplash final and won a Championship medal against Castleford the following year. In total, he played in 10 finals for Leeds, winning seven.