Five Super League players who impressed this weekend including Leeds Rhinos and Hull FC stars

Eight Super League sides were in action over the weekend, as preparations step up before the regular season begins in less than three weeks time.

On Saturday, Leeds Rhinos defeated Bradford Bulls 46-16 in Cameron Smith’s testimonial. The loose forward, who will exit the club at the end of the year, capped of his celebrations with a try and two goals, as he completes a decade of service in the Rhinos first team.

Later that day, St Helens got the better of Castleford Tigers in Matty Lees’ testimonial, as Paul Rowley won 40-10 in his first game in charge of the club.

Sunday saw both Hull sides in action, but it wasn’t to be for either team, as an understrength Hull KR were beaten by Wakefield Trinity and a similar looking Hull FC side were downed by Huddersfield Giants.

We have picked out five players who impressed over the weekend’s action, and their form comes at the perfect time with the season opener just around the corner.

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Five Super League players who excelled in pre-season friendlies this weekend

Brodie Croft

The Leeds playmaker is in a contract year, and if he wants to stay at Headingley will need to prove to Brad Arthur and Ian Blease that he is worthy of a new deal.

The former Man of Steel started his season off in the best way possible, crossing for a hat-trick against Leeds’ long-time rivals Bradford.

Working together with Jake Connor, the pair showed some promising signs on Saturday, something that Croft needs to show on more occasions in 2026.

Tray Lolesio

An unknown signing to Super League this off-season, Wakefield’s Lolesio has now impressed in two pre-season games, against Leeds on Boxing Day and this weekend over Hull KR.

Joining from the Queensland Cup, the 5’10, 102kg middle looks to be an astute signing, and Trinity fans will be delighted with his efforts so far.

Caius Faatili made a great impact to the squad in 2025, after hailing from a similar background. If Lolesio can copy that, Wakefield’s pack will be hard to handle in the upcoming campaign.

Nene MacDonald

It took just 11 minutes for MacDonald to score for St Helens, on what was his unofficial debut for the club.

Some scrappy play from Castleford saw the ball go to ground, and a number of players failed to pick the ball up. Eventually, the ball ended up in the in-goal area, and the ex-Leeds and Salford man was there to ground the ball.

Elsewhere, the Papua New Guinea international carried well and looked composed in defence, as he partnered Deon Cross on the left flank.

Arthur Romano

Whilst Hull FC may not have won against the Giants, some players did stand out. One of those was Arthur Romano, who joined the club this off-season from Catalans Dragons.

He may not have been given a number inside the starting 17, but his efforts at Brantingham Park certainly did his chances a world of good, as he capped off an all-round solid performance with a try just before the half-time hooter.

The French international will be pushing Davy Litten and Zak Hardaker for a place on the flanks this year, and provides some healthy competition in the FC backline.

Corey Hall

On what is his second appearance since August, Hall has returned to the Trinity side in some top form, and showed that again against his former side KR.

Whilst the Robins were significantly weaker than Wakefield, Daryl Powel’s side pulled off some solid attacking efforts, and the likes of Jake Trueman and Max Jowitt were at their playmaking best.

Hall was another man who stood out, and as well as scoring a try, the centre stood up well in defence as provided threat with his running game.

If the 23-year-old continues those efforts, both he and Trinity will have a solid opening to the season, which kicks off against Toulouse in round one.