Leeds youngster makes permanent move to York

York Knights have confirmed the permanent signing of Leeds forward Oli Field on a deal until the end of the 2025 season. 

Field, 20, joined York on a one-month loan deal from the Rhinos at the end of March, making five starts.

The young forward or outside-back has featured in Challenge Cup wins over Sheffield and Newcastle as well as the most recent Championship triumph over London Broncos.

He joins permanently from the Rhinos, having been part of the Super League side’s youth set-up since 2019, going on to captain the club’s Under-19s and representing England at junior level. 

Oli Field on Championship move

Field said: “When the opportunity came to stay here permanently, until the end of 2025, I jumped at it.

“I’ve loved it here so far. The team and the set-up here is great. I feel like I’ve really settled in here now and hopefully from a personal perspective I kick on now and push towards a big finish at the end of the year.

“For me, the most important thing in my career is playing regularly and Hendo has allowed me to do that here.

“I feel like playing regularly is getting the best out of me as a player and I really want to make the most of the opportunity that I’ve been given.

“There’s a great project in place here and it’s one that I’m really excited to be a part of.

“The club have got great plans for where they want to go in the future, which was a big part of me wanting to sign here for so long.”

“I’ve been very impressed by him.”

Head coach Andrew Henderson added: “I’m really pleased to have signed Oli on a permanent deal.

“We identified Oli as a young player with lots of potential and we had the opportunity to bring him in on loan and have a closer look at him and see where he’s at.

“I’ve been very impressed by him. He’s come into the group and fitted in incredibly well. He’s a good person first and foremost with a good attitude about him.

“And his performances have been really solid for us. Given that he’s not had a huge amount of experience at senior level, he’s acquitted himself really well for us in the games that he’s played.

“I’ve seen a lot of really good qualities in Oli and at 20-years-old, he’s got a bright future ahead of him.

“He’s still in his development stage as a player. Physically he’ll only continue to develop and also from a playing point of view, he’s only going to get better with more exposure at this level.

“Hopefully with the coaching team here, we can get the best out of him.”

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