Leeds have begun planning for life in National One by agreeing new deals with Leigh Hinton and Jonny Hepworth but releasing 14 players.
Hinton and Hepworth retained as 14 players are released at Leeds
Leeds have begun planning for life in National One by agreeing new deals with Leigh Hinton and Jonny Hepworth but releasing 14 players.
Hinton, who was last season's leading scorer in English rugby's second tier, has penned a new one-year deal while former Leeds Rhinos academy product Hepworth has extended his stay by a further two seasons.
And Leeds director of rugby Stuart Lancaster is thrilled to have tied Hepworth and Hinton to new deals.
He said: "I am delighted that Leigh and Jonny have agreed new contracts with the club and we are in the process of renewing all the contracts of players we wish to retain for next season.
"Both Leigh and Jonny were important players for us last season and they will be stronger from the experience of having performed at the highest level in the Guinness Premiership this season."
However while Hepworth and Hinton have secured their immediate future a number of the Leeds squad are on the look out for new clubs.
Outstanding
Mark Lock, Darren Edwards, Colin Noon, Pablo Bouza, Martin Schusterman, John Holtby, Mike Aspinall, Tom Rock, James Parkes, Andy Rock, Richard Vasey, Tom Whittaker, Max Lewis and Michael Cusack have all been told that they will not be offered new deals.
Lancaster added: "It is obviously an aspect of professional sport that people will move on from time to time. All of these players have given outstanding service to the club.
"The majority of them have been with us for the past two years and joined the club at a difficult time in our history.
"Their dedication and commitment to the club went a long way to rebuilding the team and we will always be grateful for that.
"In the case of the younger players, they have an opportunity move to a new environment and challenge themselves.
"It has always been the aim of the academy system that we keep players in Yorkshire and in the case of these younger players there are some quality players who will no doubt go on to become first-team players in their own right in many of the clubs that have supported their development over the last few years.
"We will certainly keep an eye on them to see how they get on as we know they are quality individuals.
"This gives us the opportunity to free up places for a new players coming through the academy in addition to bringing some new players into the squad."
