Leeds Rhinos' Sam Lisone on reunion with Smith and Fusitu'a and why he'll give Super League a 'red hot crack'

The front-rower says he is keen to regain his “love for the game” following a move from Austrlaian side Gold Coast Titans.

Lisone signed for Rhinos two months ago on a deal until the end of 2024 and arrived in England on Sunday.

The Auckland-born 28-year-old has played four times for Samoa and made 133 NRL appearances with New Zealand Warriors and Gold Coast Titans.

Joining Leeds reunites him with Rhinos boss Rohan Smith, who coached him in Warriors’ under-20s side and former teammate and close friend David Fusitu’a.

“I have come here for a new opportunity and a fresh start,” Lisone said. “I want to give it a red hot crack and make myself, my family, my teammates and the fans proud.”

Lisone admitted he lost some of his love for the sport during his final season at the Titans, but stressed: “To be honest, I don’t want to talk about what happened then.

“I am here at Leeds and I am ready to rip in for my new teammates. That’s the goal [to win silverware], I am not coming all this way just to take part. If I was coming here just to muck around I would have stayed in Australia.”

Lisone promised “hard runs and hard hits” for his new side. He pledged: “I will just do my best for the boys.

“I want to play some good footy and find my feet again. Me and Rohan have had a good chat about it - I am trying to find that spark and play my best footy.

“I want to turn myself over to the team and hopefully we can do something special next year.

“I’ll keep playing footy until my knees blow and I can’t walk again. I will go anywhere to play footy, this club was interested so here I am.”

Lisone will effectively replace veteran Australian front-rower Matt Prior, who announced his retirement last month.

Outlining how his move to Leeds came about, Lisione said: “I had some issues at the Titans and an opportunity came up over here.

“I had a good relationship with Rohan and it wasn’t a hard choice to make. I know what he is about and what he can bring out of his players.

“Seeing what the team did last year, when they went to the Grand Final, I want to be part of that and part of this club.

“There was a couple of other clubs interested, but my childhood friend David Fusitu’a is at the club and that was another reason why I wanted to come here.

“It is a great club - I used to play as them on League Live on PlayStation 2 - Jamie Jones-Buchanan used to score my tries.”

Lisone has remained in close contact with Fusitu’a since the winger joined Rhinos a year ago.

“We talk all the time,” he added. “Once I knew Dave was over here, I wanted to come here.

“It’s pretty cool, I got in on Sunday and I feel pretty good. I was up at 2.30 on Monday morning, but I did some weights with the boys and met the team.

“I’ve had a look at the gym where we train and [seen] all the legends who’ve come through that, people I used to look up to like [former Rhinos hero] Ali Lauitiiti, who comes from the same area I come from.”

Lisone will not feature when Rhinos begin their pre-season campaign at home to Wakefield Trinity on Boxing Day, but is relishing playing at Headingley when the time comes.

“That’s one thing I am looking forward to, running out on a Friday night and the drums going off,” he said.

“I am pretty excited about that. I don’t know much about [Super League], but I am keen to give it a crack.”

Lisone’s partner Georgia Hale played for New Zealand in last month’s women’s World Cup final defeat by Australia.

She is due to join Lisone in England next year and is considering an offer to join Rhinos’ women’s side and he said: “I think she will make that decision when she gets over.”