LEEDS RHINOS are ‘working to keep’ a “a couple” of uncontracted players at Headingley for 2026 and beyond, head coach Brad Arthur has revealed.
At Rhinos’ awards night, Ethan Clark-Wood, Chris Hankinson, Joe Shorrocks and Jack Smith were announced to be leaving the club.
Australian Ethan Clark-Wood joined Rhinos in February on a one-year deal and featured just once in the first team before suffering a season-ending shoulder injury at training two months ago.
Meanwhile, fellow outside-back Jack Smith came through Rhinos’ academy and has yet to make his first appearance for the first-team, spending much of this year on loan at London Broncos.
Both Chris Hankinson and Joe Shorrocks, however, have been in and around the first-team since making the move from Salford Red Devils.
But Arthur has hinted that deals could still be done: “There’s still a couple of guys there we are trying to work at keeping,” the former Parramatta Eels boss said.
“The guys that are uncontracted for next year, we had to thank them and show our appreciation of what they have done for our club, but there’s a couple of guys on that list we are looking to try and keep moving forward.
“Joe (Shorrocks) hasn’t had many opportunities. He came in for one game and did a really good job, then had a two-week suspension.
“He is competitive and has a physical presence. He plays the game nice and tough and Chris (Hankinson) has been very valuable for us on the wing in terms of his back-field carries.
“He has been strong; his first game was good, but he had a couple of handling errors. He has really kicked on since then, now he’s comfortable with the team and he can give us a bit of flexibility and depth, covering a few spots – centre, six or full-back.”