In response to the NRL’s interest in standoff Brodie Croft, the Leeds Rhinos have responded firmly.
Croft is on the St George-Illawarra Dragons’ five-man shortlist to replace Queensland and Kangaroos great Ben Hunt, who was released from the last year of his contract, according to the Australian Daily Telegraph.
Bevan French of the Wigan Warriors, Daniel Atkinson of the Cronulla Sharks, Lachlan Ilias of the South Sydney Rabbitohs, and Adam Doueihi of the Wests Tigers are also rumoured to be targets.
The Australian club has lost out, though, if they want Croft for the upcoming season.
Croft, who formerly played in the NRL for the Melbourne Storm and Brisbane Broncos, signed a three-year contract with the Rhinos 13 months ago after leaving the Salford Red Devils.
Additionally, Ian Blease, the sporting director, announced today that he will be a member of Leeds’ 2025 team. Blease told The Yorkshire Evening Post, “He does have an NRL clause in his contract, but that has to be exercised before a certain date.”
“He won’t be going next year because that date has long since passed.”
One of the Rhinos’ best players this season was 27-year-old Croft. Only Lachlan Lam of the Leigh Leopards and Man of Steel Mikey Lewis of Hull KR, with 24 tries apiece, were able to surpass his personal record of 22 assists on the 88 tries Leeds scored throughout their Betfred Super League campaign.
He participated in 26 of their 28 competitive games, scoring two drop goals and eight tries, both of which were victories in golden-point extra time against the London Broncos. Shane Flanagan, the coach of the Dragons, was quoted by the Telegraph as saying: “There are a lot of players we could potentially look at.”
We also need to decide if we should continue and aim for 2026. I wouldn’t argue that anyone is in advance of anyone else, but I simply wanted to decide if we should stick with our 2025 plan or find someone else to look at.
Some players may be scratched off right away. They’re not in or out, mind you.
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