Leeds Rhinos' Rhyse Martin reveals 2024 role, discusses PNG NRL speculation, says team flying in pre-season

Rhyse Martin has been in pre-season training with Leeds Rhinos since the start of this month. Picture by Simon Hulme.

The 29-year-old was ever-present last term, but has not featured in the second-row, his specialist position, since May. In 2023, he started only seven of his 28 games there, five of those in successive weeks at the start of the campaign. He made 17 appearances at centre and played stand-off four times.

Those positional switches were dictated by Harry Newman’s hamstring injury and the early exit of Blake Austin, but Newman is now fully fit, Rhinos have a new centre in Paul Momirovski and Brodie Croft has inherited the number six jersey. If all goes well, that will allow Martin to concentrate on his specialist role in the pack.

“That’s definitely where I see myself,” Martin confirmed. “The club have brought in Paul and Harry is 100 per cent fit too. I don’t see myself being in front of those two and we’ve got quality players behind them as well. The young boys are learning off those two and pushing them. For me, it’ll be second-row, but obviously I have got to do my job and perform there.”

Rhyse Martin kicked 80 goals, alongside 10 tries, in 28 games for Leeds Rhinos last season. Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWpix.com.

Martin, who joined Leeds midway through the 2019 season, is out of contract in November and admitted that makes it a big year on a personal level. But he stressed: “I just want to enjoy my footy. Whatever happens, happens.

“I have been in this position a lot, but I am happy. I had a good season last year and a good season the one before. I am just looking to be better again and do my job for my teammates. That’s all I can do.”

Speculation in Australia suggests a Papua New Guinea team could be invited to join the NRL in the next few years. As captain of the national side, Martin would be an obvious recruitment target if that happened, but it is not something he is thinking about at the moment.

Rhyse Martin, seen scoring against Huddersfield last June, was outstanding for Rhinos in 2023, despite spending much of the campaign out of position at centre. Picture by Ed Sykes/SWpix.com.

“I don’t know if it will be in my career time, but there is talk of it for 2027 or 28, which is a long way away,” he said. “If that ever comes around, we’ll see, but I am here at the moment and I just want to do my job for this team.”

After playing for PNG in their post-season internationals, Martin was given extra time off by Leeds following the birth of his daughter Mya on October 6 and did not begin pre-season with Rhinos until the start of this month.

“It was nice to spend a bit of time with Mya and my son Matteo and my partner Vanessa,” Martin said. “We were here in Leeds, just getting settled in as a family of four. Mya is healthy, she’s a happy little baby. She’s getting big now, she’s putting on some weight and she’s a hungry little girl so that’s good. Vanessa is doing a great job, especially with no family here. She has got good support from friends, but she’s doing a lot herself now I am back at training.”

Having not featured in the Boxing Day win over Wakefield Trinity, Martin could get a runout in Sunday’s second pre-season game, at Bradford Bulls. He insisted the signs are all positive. “It has been good,” he said of his three weeks in training. “The boys are flying. It has been a stepping stone from last pre-season, I feel. We have learned from last year and we’ve been working hard. The boys have been putting the work in and they’ve been doing really well. The energy, the vibe and the culture is thriving.”

Rhinos have a new-look squad, but Martin is reluctant to compare it to previous years, describing that as “just opinions”. He reflected: “I have been in good teams that haven’t performed. At the end of the day, we just need to perform and win games. If we can do that, that’s great. I am excited for round one and we’ll take it from there, I guess. We just need to start our season off strong.”

The real business begins on Friday, February 16, when Rhinos take on Salford Red Devils at AMT Headingley in Betfred Super League round one. Martin reckons that makes the next three weeks crucial.

“It’s what we have been working towards,” he stated. “We are trying to pull it all together now and get everyone ready for round one. That’s all we can do, get ready for round one and go from there, but we are just trying to focus on ourselves and competing with each other to get better every week. That’s the main focus of the group.”