Leeds Rhinos coach Brad Arthur has given his thoughts on forward Sam Lisone’s impending exit.
Hull FC this week announced Lisone’s signing on a two-year deal beginning next season. The impact sub, who is in the final year of his Leeds contract, is ever-present in 2025 and Arthur admitted: “It’s disappointing for the club.”
But he insisted: “It’s footy – the game changes from week to week, year to year and people come and go. I’ve always said it – players, coaches, nobody’s bigger than the club.
“We wish Sam all the best, he is going to be hard to replace, but Rhyse Martin was going to be hard to replace too and we managed to do it. The club will move on.”
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Sam Lisone exit clears way for Leeds Rhinos youngsters
Martin turned down Leeds’ offer of a new deal last year to join Hull KR. With the overseas quota rising to 10 next season, Rhinos will have the option to replace Lisone from overseas. But sporting director Ian Blease has stressed they want to bring their own players through and Arthur said they may not need a like-for-like swap.
“There’s a lot of good young blokes here,” he said. “But I have been playing with five front-rowers in a rotation – because we’ve had five good ones – and you only really need four.
“So it opens other opportunities for other guys. There’s a couple of guys underneath who are playing well and it probably opens up a pathway for Presley [Cassell] as well.”
Cassell is a teenage back-rower who is under contract until the end of 2028. He has been in several 21-man squads and has taken 18th man duties, but is yet to make his first team debut.
Two other young forwards who could get a chance are 20 year olds Ben Littlewood – who is in the initial 21-man-squad for tonight’s (Friday) visit of St Helens – and Tom Nicholson-Watton.
Littlewood made one substitute appearance in 2024, but has spent much of this year on the casualty list following pre-season hamstring surgery.
“He has had a really disrupted pre-season and season,” Arthur said. “We had some high hopes for him to get a few more opportunities this year than he has been presented with.
“We also want to take it slowly with him, but he is developing nicely. He is a tall, rangy, good style of a back-rower, but can also play in the middle.
“At some stage it’d be nice to see where these guys are at and maybe he is getting close to an opportunity.”
Fellow pack man Tom Nicholson-Watton has featured once off the bench this term, but is currently sidelined with a stress fracture of an ankle.
Arthur added: “He is a little bit away, but he is back running. Tom is reliable, you know what you are going to get from him. He is a really good team player.”
