Super League side Leeds Rhinos signed Kruise Leeming from Huddersfield 12 months ago on a two-year deal; he helped them win the Challenge Cup in his first season; Leeming: "To renew after just one year at the club says a lot. I am overwhelmed and thankful to [head coach] Richard Agar"
Thursday 25 March 2021 07:12, UK
Leeds hooker Kruise Leeming has signed a three-year contract extension that will keep him at Headingley until at least the end of the 2024 season.
The 25-year-old Leeming, who shares the hooking duties with Brad Dwyer, joined the Rhinos on a two-year deal from Huddersfield 12 months ago and won the Challenge Cup at Wembley in his first season.
Leeds head coach Richard Agar, ahead of his side's 2021 Super League opener at Wakefield on Saturday - live on Sky Sports Arena - said: "I am pleased for Kruise that he has agreed a new long-term contract with the club.
"He is still only 25 and a player with great potential. We have got good competition for the hooking spot and that is only good for the squad as a whole.
"I think Kruise has worked hard to improve his game over the last season and I am sure he can continue that progression throughout 2021 and beyond."
Leeming said: "It was an easy decision for me. The staff, players and fans have made me feel so welcome.
"To renew after just one year at the club says a lot. I am overwhelmed and thankful to Richard Agar in particular for the faith he has shown in me. My job now is to repay that faith over the next four years."
With the start of the 2021 Super League season just days away, Sky Sports rugby league pundit Barrie McDermott has been picking out a player to watch for each team this year.
Last season, the Rhinos finished fifth and won the Challenge Cup - and this summer they have brought in fresh faces such as Zane Tetevano, King Vuniyayawa and Kyle Eastmond.
McDermott, though, feels the Rhinos' Mikolaj Oledzki is the one to watch in 2021.
"I am confident he will be in the England squad for the World Cup at the end of the season," McDermott said.
"What we saw last year was him starting to string good performances together and he quickly became someone Richard Agar trusted. He's very strong and very powerful."
Super League has confirmed the full fixture list for the regular season, along with plans for fans to start returning to stadiums from the end of May.
Details for the first two rounds, both of which see all six matches being shown live on Sky Sports, had already been announced, as had the matches for both days of Magic Weekend at Newcastle's St James' Park in September.
A Rivals Round in lieu of the traditional Easter weekend derbies to be held during Round 20 on the weekend of August 19 to 22 was announced on Thursday, with Super League now confirming the full slate of fixtures from Round 3 onwards.
As previously announced, the regular season will feature 25 rounds of matches starting on Friday, March 26 and ending on the weekend of September 16 to 19.
These will be followed by the play-offs, which get underway on September 23 and will again feature the teams which finish in the top six, with the Grand Final at Old Trafford scheduled for Saturday, October 9.
Following the recent update from the government on the roadmap out of Covid-19 restrictions, clubs are planning for the return of fans to stadiums for the first time since March last year in time for the Round 7 fixtures on the weekend of May 20 to 23.
Kick-off times and Sky Sports picks for live broadcast from Round 3 onwards will be announced in due course.
