LEEDS RHINOS chief executive Gary Hetherington has told the League Express Podcast that his club still has space on the salary cap for new signings to arrive at Headingley, with the club currently in negotiations with Salford Red Devils with a view to signing their stand-off half Brodie Croft for a substantial transfer fee.
“There will be some yes (new signings), we have still some flexibility on our salary cap because of the number of players that have left. We do have vacancies which will be filled in the next couple of weeks,” Hetherington said, who admits that they have struggled in recent years to replace some iconic players, with their most recent Grand Final success coming six years ago in 2017.
“It was always going to be and they all came to the end of their career together, which made it increasingly difficult,” Hetherington continued.
“Kevin Sinfield, Jamie Peacock and Kylie Leuluai all played their last game together. You’re not going to suddenly just replace them; you can replace them with three good players but they won’t have been part of the system for many years like those were. You can replace them but there would never be a direct replacement. Then soon afterwards we got a succession of other players all due to retire.
“That was coupled with the redevelopment of Headingley, which was significant investment. It did affect the club’s ability to train, our capacity went down to 9,000, and we lost our training ground with the floods, which was another factor.
“When we finally got the development of the stadium finalised, we got Covid, which affected everybody. There has been significant disruption, but I’m not looking to make excuses as we always want to compete at the top end of the table.”
Recently the Rhinos announced locally-based business AMT Auto as the new ground-naming rights holder in a 15-year deal, which the Rhinos have confirmed as their biggest-ever commercial agreement.
Now with the help of the injection of funds, Hetherington aims to build a squad that will bring success back to what from December will be AMT Headingley Rugby Stadium.
“I think a lot of what we do is pretty good,” he told League Express.
“Our matchday presentation, and our communication and relationship with all our members, fans and particularly sponsors and promotional partners is outstanding.
“We have got a very solid management team. Most of our heads of department have been here for many years and they are extremely committed.
“Looking at us as an organisation, there are so many things that are pretty good.
“Our connection with our Leeds Rhinos Foundation and with all the various teams we have here, the women’s, wheelchair, men’s disability, learning disability and our Super League netball side, is thriving and progressing.
“We are now on an upwards trajectory where we can look at developing and progressing what is there to support our ambitions on the field.”
Hetherington says the AMT deal is a major boost following a disappointing eighth-place Super League finish.
“It’s a great confidence boost to Leeds Rhinos, Headingley and for Super League because we have got a local company with a national brand that is investigating significantly in the sport,” he explained.
“It’s very timely for Leeds Rhinos as we look forward to 2024, because we are determined to have a season that brings success both on and off the field.”
