Salford Red Devils assistant-coach makes Kallum Watkins admission amid Leeds Rhinos interest

The Yorkshire Evening Post revealed this morning (Tuesday) Rhinos are still hopeful of re-signing Watkins despite having an offer turned down by his present club. Speaking at Salford’s weekly preview press conference today, Inu insisted he was “not too sure” about the chances of Watkins joining Leeds, but confirmed it will be a setback if he does go.

Watkins joined home city club Salford in 2020 following a spell in the southern hemisphere NRL with Gold Coast Titans. He began his career with Rhinos and scored 132 tries and 101 goals in 259 appearances from 2008-2019, including three Grand Final wins.

Leeds are understood to have offered the 34-year-old a contract until the end of next season and believe his leadership and ability to play at centre or in the second-row would add value to their squad. With financial concerns persisting and a sustainability spending cap still in place, the Red Devils notified clubs last week of Watkins’ availability.

He declined to play in their Betfred Super League game at Wigan Warriors, but did feature when they were beaten at Catalans Dragons in the Challenge Cup four days ago. The sides meet at Salford on Thursday, but Leeds are optimistic a deal can be concluded after that.

“It would be a blow for any team if you lose your captain, especially Kallum Watkins,” Inu accepted. “He has been a great leader for us. He always leads the way in his actions - he’s a man of few words, but he leads by example. He’d be a blow to any team that loses him.”

Salford have already said farewell to several big names - including star half-back Marc Sneyd who has joined Warrington Wolves and ex-Rhinos prop Brad Singleton, following his move to Castleford Tigers. The uncertainty over Watkins’ future adds to Salford’s woes ahead of Thursday’s game and Inu conceded losing players has made the coaching staff’s job harder.

He said: “For us, we’re just doing our best and the boys that are here, that turn up every week. We’re grateful for the people we have around us that are here to play, so we'll do our best and do our job with who's here.”