Exclusive: Leeds Rhinos, Papua New Guinea star subject to NRL interest as he enters final year of contract

NRL side Dolphins are looking to Super League for potential recruits for the 2025 season, and have identified Leeds Rhinos forward Rhyse Martin as a player of interest, Love Rugby League has learned.

The Australian club, who are about to embark on their second season in the NRL, will be coached by former St Helens boss Kristian Woolf in 2025, with Wayne Bennett set to step aside at the end of this year, a decision which had been pre-agreed before the Dolphins had even played an NRL game.

And Woolf, a keen admirer of Super League from his time in England, is believed to be scouring all available options on this side of the world in regards to players who are due to come off-contract at the end of the current campaign. That list of players includes Martin, and Love Rugby League understands he is a player of interest for Woolf and the Dolphins.

Leeds Rhinos goal-kicker Rhyse Martin identified as a potential target for the Dolphins

The Papua New Guinea international signed a new two-year deal in 2022, taking him through to the end of this year.

And with his future heading into 2025 uncertain, Love Rugby League has been told he has been identified as a potential target for Woolf as he begins to piece together what he would like his inaugural squad as head coach to look like.

Martin has been a revelation for Leeds since joining from Canterbury midway through the 2019 season, and has become a firm favourite at AMT Headingley. He has made over 100 appearances for the Rhinos and scored more than 800 points.

During his time at Leeds, Martin has also become the most-capped player in Papua New Guinea history – and he has established a reputation as one of the best goal-kickers in the modern game.

In 2022, he broke the Super League record for most consecutive goals without missing, and he tied the all-time worldwide record of 41 successive kicks during that run, too.

It remains to be seen whether Martin would be open to a return to Australia or continue his time at Leeds.

The Rhinos are keen admirers of Martin, and the 30-year-old has made no secret of how he has enjoyed his time in England with the Rhinos, and after signing his most recent contract in 2022, he said: “As a young family we’ve made Leeds our home now. We’ve been here long enough so it was definitely an easy decision to stay.”

But he is now subject to interest from elsewhere as he enters the final year of his contract.

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