Leeds Rhinos willing to talk as Luke Hooley linked with Castleford Tigers, boss makes '3 or 4' signings hint

The coach also revealed Rhinos have “three or four” more places to fill in next season’s squad and some announcements could be made “soon”.

A report today (Tuesday) suggested Hooley, who is under contract until the end of 2024, is set to join Castleford Tigers next year as a replacement for Hull KR-bound Niall Evalds.

Hooley, 25, joined Rhinos last autumn from Batley Bulldogs, having previously been on the books of Bradford Bulls - when Smith was coach there - and Wakefield Trinity.

After overcoming a pre-season injury, he made one appearance in March before returning to Batley - whose team boss Craig Lingard is also an assistant-coach at Castleford - on dual-registration.

He came back into the side last month following an injury to number one Richie Myler and has played in Leeds’ last six games, scoring three tries, but faces dropping down the pecking order again next year.

Miller has been signed from Newcastle Knights, on a three-year deal, to play full-back and Myler is contracted for 2024.

There are also several talented full-backs at the bottom end of Rhinos’ full-time squad, including Alfie Edgell and Riley Lumb and coming through the academy system.

Hooley told the Yorkshire Evening Post earlier this month he was looking forward to learning from and competing with Miller, but clearly the prospect of being first-choice at another Betfred Super League club would be difficult to turn down. If he does join Castleford in pre-season, Friday’s home game against them will be his last for Rhinos.

“Luke will no doubt draw some interest, given we’ve signed an established NRL full-back and Luke was brought in to be a back-up full-back,” Smith said.

“He has done a commendable job in recent times in tough circumstances. He has come in and done his job and if something happens there external, that will be a conversation - but we are looking forward to Luke finishing the season strongly with us.”

Asked if Hooley has been told he can leave the club, Smith stated: “I would be happy to have conversations behind closed doors with players that want to explore their opportunities, particularly when it’s a situation where we’ve recruited over the top of him essentially and we still have Richie Myler with us. If something happens there, we will have those conversations.”

Smith stressed decisions will be taken in the best interests of the player and club. He added: “We have conversations around not only the present, but the future.

“The way it works in sport now, when players are coming into the final year of their contract, sometimes they are looking for that early security.

“Even around this time of year they are looking for the security of 2025 and beyond. Sometimes you can’t give that to them and sometimes it can work out in the best interests of the player and the club to move on, but those conversations haven’t been had any time recently.”

Senior first team squad members Kruise Leeming, Blake Austin and Zane Tetevano all left Rhinos during the current season, along with youngsters Oli Field and Levi Edwards and that’s something Smith would clearly want to avoid next year.

He conceded the departures have been a “disruption” and insisted: “It is where most of the attention goes from the media, where players are signing and what’s going to happen to your roster next week and next month and next year.

“It is an on-going thing; recruitment and retention has basically become a 12 months of the year activity in the NRL and Super League, partly because of the speculation and partly because of players’ and clubs’ interest in securing their personal and collective future. There’s no right time, each situation is different.”

Another player who could be on his way out is three-quarter Nene Macdonald, who has not returned to Leeds after being granted paternity leave in Australia late last month.

The situation is being dealt with by chief executive Gary Hetherington and Smith said: “That one is on-going. It is still a work in progress and ‘a resolution is getting closer’ is the only real update I have had.”

Pre-season for 2024 will begin in November and Smith hopes to have most of his squad in place by then.

“We’ll be really close,” he predicted. “We have got three or four more spots to fill, I believe. Those ones are bubbling away and there could be some announcements soon.

“But things can happen at any point for us or or for a player, so those conversations will be had as and when needed.

“Everyone would prefer to have their players all in situ on day one of pre-season, but with representative fixtures and whatnot, the reality is you usually don’t have your group together until Christmas time or so.”