Gary Hetherington has rubbished claims made by James Segeyaro that he isn’t under contract at Leeds.
Segeyaro’s agent claimed that negotiations over a two-year contract were never finalised, but Leeds’ chief executive has dismissed those claims.
Leeds have put a £250,000 transfer fee on the head of the former Penrith hooker, who is attracting attention from Cronulla Sharks.
Cronulla aren’t willing to pay such a fee for the Papua New Guinean international, and the Rhinos are holding firm and are considering legal action against Segeyaro after he failed to report back to the club for training.
Segeyaro cited homesickness as the main reason for not wanting to return to Leeds, but the Rhinos were adamant that this wasn’t acceptable.
His manager Sam Ayoub told Australian media that the contract in place was not valid, but Hetherington told the Press Association that this isn’t true.
“We have a bona fide contract that is currently lodged with the RFL. If they want to go through the courts, that’s their prerogative.
“He terminated that contract by failing to return to the club but he remains on our register and on the transfer list.
“We have had no request from Cronulla and the NRL have confirmed that while ever he is registered with the RFL he cannot be registered with them.”
