Leeds Rhinos co-captain Ash Handley has revealed how Brad Arthur announced his decision to stick around at Headingley to the playing group.
The head coach brought an end to months of uncertainty this afternoon by confirming that he has penned a new deal to remain in West Yorkshire with the club he has transformed into contenders over the last 12 months. Arthur has penned a deal for 2026 with a rolling contract in place for future years should he stay even longer.
The Australian joined Leeds a little over a year ago, taking over from Rohan Smith for the final 10 games of the Super League season. Leeds were out of the play-off picture at the time and struggling for direction, but Arthur has turned the club around and the Rhinos are most certainly in with a chance of silverware as the end of the 2025 campaign approaches.
After beating Leigh Leopards last Thursday, the club are fifth in Super League, four points off the top two and six ahead of Wakefield Trinity, who are seventh and pushing for that final play-off spot. As such, a top six spot is all but assured and under Arthur, the club have shown they can be a threat when it comes to the post-season.
The Leeds players were ecstatic to hear the news from Arthur this morning with the head coach choosing to tell them in typically understated fashion.
Leeds Rhinos’ Ash Handley on his delight to see Brad Arthur stick around
“Everyone is really happy with the news,” co-captain Handley told Leeds Rhinos club media on Monday. “He wanted to do it as discreetly as possible and just stuck his head around the kitchen and said ‘I’m staying’ and then just walked away.
“He didn’t want to make a big deal out of it but everyone is really happy. What we’ve done this year with him has been a pretty big turnaround and I think we need him moving forward to just keep implementing the changes he’s made and yeah, there’s a good feeling around the place.
“I think everyone has respected [the time he needed] at the club, really gave him some time to think about it and process it. He’s an honest person so he kept us in the loop all the way through with how he was feeling and what he was thinking in making a decision that was best for his family. I think we’ve all done a good job to make him feel welcome here. He said it’s impossible for him to leave with how much he likes it.”
On what Arthur has done for his career over the last 12 months, Handley added: “I probably didn’t know what a captain was until Brad has been here and helped me through bits and bats of what is expected.
“He’s constantly challenging me as a player and as a captain. I’m just really grateful to have someone like that coaching us, the knowledge he has of the game and the knowledge he has as a person and the stance he has on everything that he’s obviously learnt over the years. You’re just learning off him every day, he’s so intense but the detail he has got on every part of the game is unbelievable, he’s been brilliant.”
And, with six games to go, the news comes as a big boost for Leeds, who take on local rivals Castleford Tigers next before facing off against league leaders Hull KR and Hull FC.
“We spoke about reasons why every week, why we’re going to turn up for each other and that’s just another reason why,” Handley added.
“Hopefully we can do something special this year.”
