Leeds Rhinos boss Brad Arthur has indicated the door remains open for players heading to the southern hemisphere NRL.
Second-rower Morgan Gannon will return to Leeds next year after a season with New Zealand Warriors, but Rhinos’ Harry Newman, James McDonnell and Mikolaj Oledzki have all signed contracts at Perth Bears from 2027.
Gannon, who made 68 Super League appearances for Rhinos from 2021 to last year, is cutting short a three-year deal in Auckland for personal reasons.
And Arthur stressed: “He didn’t leave on bad terms, he didn’t get pushed out.
“He left on a positive note of doing the right thing by the club and the club looking after him the whole way through when he had some head knocks.
“We were happy to promote him to the NRL, that’s what everyone has got to realise.
“These guys who are going to the NRL, we are promoting these guys to a better pathway and a better career for themselves and a better lifestyle for themselves if that’s how they are choosing to do it. There’s no malice in it.
“We’ve just got to be comfortable that we’ve got a good club, the club is bigger than any coaches or players and if they do decide to come back to the UK we’ve just got to bank on their first priority and preference being to come back to their local club.”
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Leeds Rhinos ‘fortunate’ Gannon wants to play for hometown club
Gannon, 22, will fill the gap left by McDonnell’s departure and Arthur said he’s happy to have him back.
“We are fortunate the club he wants to play for is Leeds, his home club,” he insisted.
“We are disappointed around his family situation, but excited we get the opportunity to coach him again.
“I really enjoyed coaching him for the last year and a half before he left and it will be good to see what he can add to our squad and what he has learned. It will be good to get him back.”
