Leeds Rhinos sign NRL Grand Final winner Paul Momirovski from Sydney Roosters

The Australian centre will join Rhinos from Sydney Roosters in pre-season on a two-year contract. He is a direct replacement for Nene Macdonald, who was released from the remaining four years of his contract on Wednesday after staying away from Rhinos at the end of the 2023 season.

Momirovski, who is 6ft 2 tall and weighs in at 15 stone, began his first grade career with the Roosters in 2018 and had spells at Wests Tigers (2019) and Melbourne Storm (2020) before playing in Penrith’s Grand Final victory against South Sydney two years ago.

He returned to Roosters last year, but a shoulder injury restricted him to just three appearances this term, though he did feature in last month’s play-off defeat by Melbourne. That was his 60th NRL appearance and he has scored 26 tries, plus 24 goals.

“I am excited to be joining the Rhinos,” Momirovski said. “As soon as I spoke to [coach] Rohan Smith, I felt our philosophies on rugby league aligned and I thought it would be a great fit for me and the next chapter of my career.

“I still feel like I have got a lot to learn and working with the coaches and players at Leeds will benefit me. I have had the privilege of playing in some great teams in the NRL and I believe in always looking for ways to grow.”

Momirovski was coached at Roosters by former Catalans Dragons boss Trent Robinson. The centre added: “He spoke very highly of Rohan and the Rhinos and I think it will be a great combination with all the other boys at Leeds.

“Every move I have made in my career has improved me and helped me find my best style of rugby league.

“Moving to the other side of the word will be challenging, but I am excited about that. I can't wait to play in front of the packed stadiums - the atmosphere looks insane - and immerse myself in the culture in Leeds and Yorkshire.”

Momirovski is due to get married in December in Australia and will join up with the Rhinos at the start of the new year.

Smith revealed: “Paul was a player we had identified for 2025 because he was contracted to the Roosters next season, so it is great we have been able to bring him in a year earlier.”

The Leeds boss went on: “Paul is a player I watched coming through the Roosters system as a youngster.

“He is highly skilled with good footwork and someone who is a deep thinker on the game. He has great game awareness, especially with his work on defence and is a big communicator on the field for whichever team he has been in.

“He has been in a number of strong NRL systems and worked with some of the game’s best modern coaches.

“As well as being a Grand Final winner with Penrith he has been involved in the finals with the Roosters and Melbourne so knows what it takes to challenge for silverware.”

Rhinos chief executive Gary Hetherington thanked Roosters and Momirovski’s management for “helping to make this move go through so smoothly”.

He said: “I think everyone benefits from the move and I am certainly looking forward to seeing Paul pull on the Rhinos shirt next season and really make a name for himself here in Super League.”

Momirovski will join NRL recruits Lachie Miller (Newcastle Knights) and Matt Frawley (Canberra Raiders) at Rhinos next year, along with Mickael Goudemand from Catalans Dragons.