Leeds Rhinos have released a statement to confirm that the club are “very pleased” at the decision to expand Super League to 14 teams in 2026.
The 12 current Super League clubs voted on Monday, at Leeds’ home ground of Headingley, on a number of suggestions for what the competition should look like going forward.
As revealed by Derek Beaumont in a lengthy interview he did with club media, in which he also praised the decision, votes were had on whether Super League should be a 10-team competition, a 12-team competition, a 14-team competition, and then ultimately if that should be in 2026 or 2027.
The voting on those matters went ‘No’, ‘No’, ‘Yes’, ‘Yes’, with two of the clubs in opposition to 2026 expansion (Hull KR and Hull FC) voting in favour of it for 2027.
Leeds Rhinos were among the nine teams who voted in favour of expansion for 2026 and the club have now confirmed that in a statement, welcoming the decision and hailing the vote as a win for rugby league.
Leeds Rhinos react to Super League expansion
In doing so, Leeds became the latest club after those such as Leigh, Wakefield and Huddersfield to explain their vote and react to the news of expansion.
The club’s statement read: “Leeds Rhinos Chief Executive, Gary Hetherington, and Chairman, Paul Caddick have welcomed this week’s decision by the RFL and Super League clubs to increase the 2026 Betfred Super League competition to 14 clubs.”
Hetherington, who will depart the club at the end of the year to take on a new project at London, said: “Leeds Rhinos have always been in favour of a 14-club competition and the elimination of loop fixtures, and we were very pleased with what was an overwhelming decision by the Super League clubs who backed the RFL’s recommendation.
“I think it shows our game is prepared to make changes which are ambitious and forward-thinking, and it is refreshing to have an RFL executive who have researched this issue and responded by making a strong recommendation which nearly all the Super League clubs supported.”
That final is huge praise for Nigel Wood, the man who chaired the Strategic Review which put forward the recommendations for votes. Hetherington was one of those, alongside Derek Beaumont, to champion his return to the sport when launching the Strategic Review earlier this year.
Leeds Rhinos express their support for Betfred @SuperLeague expansion.
Read full statement: https://t.co/Lq7uPVDmXj pic.twitter.com/mXcfsK6Mmo
— Leeds Rhinos (@leedsrhinos) July 31, 2025
