Leeds head coach Richard Agar has confirmed the club’s interest in Cronulla forward Matt Prior.
The Rhinos have been linked with a move for the 32-year-old, who made 25 appearances for the Sharks last season.
Now, Agar has expressed his desire to bring the forward to the club, though admitted they had more targets in mind should a move for Prior not come.
The club has been trying to free up both a quota spot and cap space to make way for a new arrival, with Nathaniel Peteru the first to leave last week.
He’s expected to be joined out of the door by Brad Singleton, who is due to join Toronto, while Brett Ferres has signed for Featherstone.
Peteru’s departure freed up a non-federation trained spot on the club’s quota while it is believed Rhyse Martin is eligible for a Papua New Guinea passport, which would see him no longer classed as one of the club’s five full overseas players, opening the door for Prior or any other overseas arrival.
“We’d like to get an experienced forward,” Agar told TotalRL.
“We’ve got some terrific young forwards, to name just a few there’s Mikolaj Oledzki, Cameron Smith and Tom Holroyd.
“But we’d like to bring another experienced one in and Matt fits that bill. He’s an NRL winner and he’s played State of Origin.
“At the moment, we’re talking to a number of players so we’ll see what suits us best, but it’s fair to say Matty is one of them. We’ve spoke to Cronulla and his agent. He’s on holiday currently, but we will speak to him and see if it’s a viable option. We should know by next week.”
