What every Super League team still needs ahead of recruitment deadline

The Super League transfer deadline is almost upon us, meaning clubs have a race against time to complete deals.

Warrington Wolves have recently confirmed Luke Yates has joined the club earlier than originally expected, with John Bateman following on loan, and Jayden Nikorima has joined Salford Red Devils.

However, any other moves need to be made before this Friday (August 2), otherwise players will not be able to join up with their new sides before the end of the current campaign.

There may be just days left to make these deals happen, but here’s a type of player we think each Super League side could do with ahead of the deadline.

Castleford Tigers

One of Castleford’s stand-out performers, even before their recent up-tick in form, was centre Sam Wood.

His form earned him a call-up to the England squad earlier this year – where he was injured, and will miss the rest of the season.

Charbel Tasipale and Jack Broadbent have also departed this year – and would both otherwise have been centre options.

Alex Mellor, usually a second-rower, has filled in at centre recently, with great effect, but the Tigers will no-doubt want him back in his usual position.

Craig Lingard’s side could really do with a centre for the remainder of the Super League season.

Zac Cini, from Parramatta Eels, has been suggested as a potential signing.

Catalans Dragons

The Dragons have already plugged a gap with the signing of prop Jarrod Wallace from The Dolphins.

Nick Cotric and Tommy Makinson are on the way to Stade Gilbert Brutus for 2025, but before then, they’re now without Tom Johnstone for an extended amount of time through injury.

Therefore, a winger may be what is most needed in Perpignan. Fouad Yaha made just his second appearance of the season last week on the wing, but there aren’t many other options.

Losing Jayden Nikorima could have meant a backup half-back was top of the list, but Sam Tomkins coming out of retirement makes full-back Arthur Mourgue a decent option to instead play alongside Jordan Abdull or Théo Fages.

Huddersfield Giants

The Giants could do with a lot.

Last week showed that the removal of Ian Watson from his post wasn’t the perfect solution to the Giants’ woes, as they were comfortably defeated by a Leeds Rhinos side that still didn’t excel.

Rather than a player in a specific position, it feels like what Huddersfield need most is a leader – someone that will grab them by the collar and get them into gear.

Hull FC

Although Herman Ese’ese has been good this year, Ligi Sao is banned and Jack Ashworth has struggled for fitness.

King Vuniyayawa looked to be the one to help with Hull FC’s situation at prop, but now, he’s out for the remainder of the season.

FC could do with a prop.

Hull KR

The Robins have been remarkably lucky with injuries this year, with only a few notable absences across the season such as Oliver Gildart and James Batchelor, but other than that, they’ve had a pretty clean slate, with a much shorter injury list than most.

Therefore, you could argue that they just need someone with experience of winning things to help them over the line.

Leeds Rhinos

The Rhinos are now in desperate need of a prop.

Sam Eseh has been recalled by Wigan Warriors, and that will be exactly what an already-weak forward pack didn’t want.

They’ve been linked with a move for Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs prop Liam Knight by The Mole, and it would certainly make sense for them to be in for a middle considering their situation.

Leigh Leopards

The Leopards have none of their current centres contracted beyond the end of the current season.

It may make sense for them to bring in a centre to make the start of next season a bit smoother especially after the way they started the 2024 campaign.

London Broncos

The Broncos won’t be in Super League next season. We know that, and so do they – anyone they decide to sign needs to understand this too, and fully buy in to the long-term goals for the club.

They may well be back in Super League before long, so it’s time to put themselves in the best possible position to do so.

Salford Red Devils

A couple of weeks ago, we would have said Salford need a half-back that will be available to partner Marc Sneyd next season, to make it a seasoned pairing, but they’ve taken the opportunity to sign Jayden Nikorima.

That was a signing that made a lot of sense ahead of the deadline.

St Helens

A side stacked full of players, they’re not low on options anywhere, but a key issue seems to be an underperforming spine.

A short-term option in the halves may, if nothing else, put some extra pressure on players like Lewis Dodd to step up.

Warrington Wolves

Warrington have a huge pack, especially after the signings of Luke Yates and John Bateman, and it’s unlikely that they’ll be looking to make another signing before the end of the season.

However, if they do want some reinforcement, they might look for someone in the halves, with Leon Hayes out long-term and George Williams and Josh Drinkwater being the only real, consistent options in the halves, with Stefan Ratchford being utilised in the centres this season.

However, they’re probably okay across the board.

Wigan Warriors

Wigan’s issue at hooker was particularly shown with their game against St Helens, when Brad O’Neill was banned, Kruise Leeming was injured, and even young Tom Forber was unavailable for selection due to an ankle injury.

Now, O’Neill has suffered an ACL injury, meaning he’s out for a long time.

They have a huge number of players, and many could probably fill in, but the Warriors probably need a hooker more than anything else.