Leeds Rhinos: Reported target set to remain in NRL as Rohan Smith forced to go back into the market for half-backs
Lachlan Miller celebrates with his Newcastle Knights team-mates against Dolphins in the NRL. Photo by AAP Image/Darren Pateman.
Leeds Rhinos will be forced to look further into the market for half-backs with reported target Lachlan Miller expected to remain in the NRL next season.
Leeds Live reported last week that the Headingley Stadium outfit were contemplating a move for the Newcastle Knights playmaker, who can play both full-back and wing.
The 28-year-old linked up with the Knights ahead of the 2023 campaign on a three-year deal, having joined the NRL competition originally with Cronulla Sharks in 2022.
Miller previously represented Australia in Rugby Sevens at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
He has made 11 appearances in the current NRL campaign under head coach Adam O’Brien, having featured seven times for the Sharks.
Leeds Rhinos are set to lose Aidan Sezer at the end of the current campaign, with the out-of-contract veteran set to return to the NRL upon the expiry of his contract.
He has been linked with a move to competition strugglers Wests Tigers, who will lose Luke Brooks to the Manly Sea Eagles at the end of the season for a four-year deal.
Blake Austin’s future is still yet to be confirmed, with the 32-year-old insisting he would be keen to remain at Leeds Rhinos beyond the current season – although he is also open to a return Down Under.
His contract runs until the end of the campaign.
It has forced head coach Rohan Smith to look into the market for playmakers, having been linked with a handful of names for the 2024 campaign.
However, Australian journalist and Newcastle Herald columnist Barry Toohey has since reported that Miller is set to remain in the NRL with the Knights, forcing Leeds to look once more into the market.
He’s going nowhere https://t.co/aVJB5njm8Q
— Barry Toohey (@BarryToohey) July 22, 2023
Lachlan Miller and Danny Levi to stay in NRL
Another name linked with Leeds Rhinos was Canberra Raiders hooker Danny Levi.
The 26-year-old former Huddersfield Giants star was granted compassionate leave at the end of 2022, linking up with Ricky Stuart’s side for 2023.
In another recruitment blow, the Samoa international re-signed with the Raiders on a deal until 2025 over the weekend, according to The Canberra Times.
The Rhinos are yet to recruit a new hooker since the departure of former skipper Kruise Leeming, who joined Gold Coast Titans earlier this season.
Leeming, 27, will return to Super League next season with Wigan Warriors on a four-year deal.
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