Rhyse Martin makes brutal Brad Arthur admission as he reveals role in Leeds Rhinos post-season camp
Rhyse Martin in action for Leeds Rhinos in 2024
Outgoing Leeds ace Rhyse Martin says his time with the club is now over, with Rhinos boss Brad Arthur not requiring his ‘influence’ over the next few weeks as the Rhinos continue training despite their campaign having concluded.
Martin will join Hull KR in 2025 having penned a two-year deal at Craven Park with Willie Peters’ side, who could be Super League champions by the time the back-rower links up with them
Finishing 8th in the Super League table, two competition points behind the tall required to break into the top six, Leeds missed out on the play-offs.
The Rhinos though will continue training over the next few weeks, with Australian chief Arthur wanting more time to bed his ideas into his 2025 squad before their end-of-year break comes around.
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Martin – who will represent Papua New Guinea in next month’s Pacific Championships – made his 132nd and final appearance in Round 27, coincidentally against his future employers in the shape at KR.
Despite Leeds not making the cut for the top six, Kumuls star Martin was named in the Super League Dream Team, a reward for an impressive campaign on an individual level.
And speaking to Love Rugby League at the official Dream Team launch in Manchester on Monday afternoon, the forward explained his plans over the next few weeks, admitting he is now surplus to requirements at Leeds.
Martin detailed: “That’s me done, they no longer want me influencing their training!
“There’s no need for me to be there, they’re going to get ready for their pre-season.
“I’m going to get myself off and go get a bit of a freshen up before I go into camp (with Papua New Guinea).
“I’m flying back to Australia on Friday (September 27). I get a week in Sydney and then I’ll be going in to camp for the Prime Minister’s XIII.”
Under new head coach Jason Demetriou, PNG’s Prime Minister’s XIII will face their Australian counterparts in Port Moresby on October 13.
They then enter the Pacific Championships having won the inaugural Pacific Bowl in 2023. This year, in the same competition, PNG take on Fiji in Suva on October 19 and the Cook Islands in Port Moresby on November 3.
The winners of the three-nation Pacific Bowl group will then face whoever finishes bottom of the three-nation Pacific Cup group – Australia, New Zealand or Tonga – in a promotion/relegation play-off with a spot in next year’s top tier competition at stake.
That final takes place on November 10 in Sydney.
