Leeds Rhinos news: Ryan Hall drops big hint over future with ‘who finishes on 19’ remark
Hall, who turned 37 last month, is set to pull on a blue and amber jersey for the first time since August 11, 2018 when Rhinos face Wakefield Trinity on Boxing Day in the Tetley’s Festive Challenge.
The six-time Grand Final winner has returned to Rhinos after spells with Sydney Roosters and Hull KR, where he was a Grand Finalist this year.
Betfred Super League’s all-time top try scorer, who made his senior debut for Rhinos in their infamous 2007 Magic Weekend win over Bradford Bulls, is officially on a one-season contract, but revealed he will consider playing on in 2026. “I’ve got an option for a second year,” Hall confirmed.
“But it depends how I feel and how the club feels. In reality, this is year 19 and what sort of mental person finishes on 19? You’ve got to finish on 20, surely. That’s what I’m aiming for, to stay as long as possible.”
He vowed: “It’s not to drag it out, I don’t want to be clinging on when I’m not wanted. If the club wants me to play because I’m adding to the team, then 100 per cent I’ll be there. But if the club say ’come on mate, your race is run’, I’ll listen to that. But I still feel like I can offer something.”
The Oulton Raiders product will be staying on at Rhinos when he does eventually hang up his boots, though what that involves is yet to be decided. “It’s more commercial than coaching,” he said. “There’s a coaching role in there if I take to it and want to do it. You never know how well you’ll take to coaching unless you do it, but I’m not thinking about that yet because I’m still playing.”
Hall made 330 appearances for Leeds, scoring 233 tries, including one which clinched the league leaders’ shield in 2015, before moving to the NRL ahead of the 2019 season.
Only Mikolaj Oledzki remains at the club from the side which featured in Hall’s last Rhinos game, a 48-22 Headingley win over Toulouse Olympique in middle-eights qualifiers, when a serious knee injury ended his season.
Even so, it hasn’t taken long for Hall to feel at home on his old stamping ground. He reflected: “I haven’t put my shirt on yet so I don’t know how I’ll feel in the first game.
It was weird coming back on the first day of training, because it felt like I didn’t know if I was meant to be there, but once that weird first day was out of the way, it feels like I’m at home now.
“I’ve got my old spot in the changing room that I used to have for 12 years before – and the same locker – so I feel right at home. I was expecting to have to fight for it. Going back 19 years when I first walked into the training ground, I put my bag down and unbeknown to me it was Keith Senior’s spot – and that got thrown out of the way and he said, ‘you’re not sitting there’. I was expecting that to happen and my bag to end up in the shower.”
Rhinos rarely resign players, so it was a major surprise when Hall’s return was announced last April, though he admitted “you never say never”. Hall stressed: “That’s the great thing about sport, people didn’t expect me to still be playing at 37, but here I am. I had a fantastic time here prior to leaving and I want to have a fantastic time again. We’ve got a good team and I want to get it done on the field. I was never going to turn it down.”
Rhinos have signed another winger in Fijian ace Maika Sivo, from Parramatta Eels and with co-captain Ash Handley also on the books, competition for places is fierce. Hall is aware of the situation and relishing the challenge.
“You’ve got to compete for your place because once you get your feet under the table you lose your fight,” he warned. “If you’re not consistently doing what you need to be doing, you won’t play. It sounds weird, but I’m more than happy not to play if there’s two better people than me.”
