Leeds Rhinos' Matt Frawley makes 'good footy' pledge as contract enters final year
and on Freeview 262 or Freely 565
Frawley joined Rhinos from Canberra Raiders ahead of last season and is one of six Leeds players who have yet to agree terms for 2026. The 30-year-old former Canterbury Bulldogs and Huddersfield Giants scrum-half admitted what happens after this year is on his mind “a little bit”, but stressed he is content to let his rugby do the talking.
“We have had a few discussions, but it’s just [a case of] see how the year pans out, really,” Frawley said of his contract situation. “It’s still early days so we’ll just tick off some good footy at the start of the year - hopefully - and we’ll visit that later on, but everything’s fine so far.”
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide Ad

Frawley is upbeat about his and the team’s prospects this term. He admitted: “You always go into a year with optimism and hope it is going to be a good one and this is no different. It feels a bit more familiar to me now, this being my second year I know what to expect and how things work a bit more than this time last year.
“That’s really exciting and it has been a good pre-season. You’re never going to go backwards if you’re working hard - that’s probably the number one thing you have to do in pre-season, just to get the load into your body and a bit of resilience.
“When you go through hard sessions as a team, you bond and learn about each other a bit more. It’s not always enjoyable, but it’s something you’ve got to do. Every team is working hard at this time of the year, but it has been good, it has been a slog, but enjoyable as well, which is important.”
At times Leeds struggled to go forward last year and Frawley stressed that has been “a real focus for everyone, not just our middles and back-five” over the past few months. “Everyone is wanting to be a bit more direct, so we can play a bit more on the front foot and a bit more up-tempo,” he said. “That’s something that has been a focus in pre-season and will be all year.”
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide Ad

If Rhinos can apply pressure near the opposition’s line, Frawley feels they’ve got players to pile on the points. “There’s plenty of strike there,” he said. “But it’s about playing on the front foot and also holding on to the ball.
“That’s the big thing; last year we were the worst team for errors in the comp and no matter how good your team is, if you’re dropping the ball and giving the opposition easy possession, it makes it hard. We are trying to focus on those fundamentals and the basic parts of the game.
“That’s what the best teams do, they nail all those boring, basic things and we want to be known for that as a team this year. Then all the other stuff - the strike and that sort of thing - is the cream on top.”
Much of that “strike” will come from winger Maika Sivo, who scored 104 tries in 115 NRL games for Parramatta Eels before joining Leeds in pre-season. Frawley played against the Fijian Test ace in Australia and admitted he’d rather be on the same side.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide Ad

“He is a big body,” Frawley noted. “I’ve played against him a few times, but you don’t get a real indication of how big he is until you’ve spent some time with him and you compare him to some of the other fellas.
“He has been really good so far. He lives around the corner from me, which is nice - we’ve been able to travel into training and everything together. He’s a great fella and his record sparks for itself. We’re hoping he can do that for us this year, but we’ll have to play our role in that as well - give him plenty of early ball and I think he’ll be really good for us.”
Comment Guidelines
National World encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting. Please review our Community Guidelines before commenting.