Leeds Rhinos vs Hull KR

RHINOS 

VS HULL KR 

JAMES DONALDSON'S 

TESTIMONIAL 

AMT HEADINGLEY STADIUM 

04.02.24, KO 3PM 

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THANK YOU 

Firstly, I would to say a massive thank you to you for coming out to 

support me at today’s testimonial game. I am particularly grateful to 

the RFL for granting me a testimonial for services to the game and 

for the Leeds Board of Directors for allowing me to put on this match. 

I would like to thank Hull KR, especially Head Coach Willie Peters, for 

agreeing to come to AMT Headingley for this clash as we build up to 

a massive season for both clubs. I am fortunate and grateful to both 

coaching teams for fielding such strong squads, I am sure the fans will 

get to enjoy a great contest. 

Looking back over my career, it seems fitting that I start at the 

beginning with Wath Brow Hornets. They were the club that made 

me the player that I am and supported me from 6 years old to this 

present day! I will always be a Hornet! 

I would like to thank Bradford Bulls, Hull Kingston Rovers and 

Leeds Rhinos for their integral part in my journey as a rugby 

league player! I have experienced some things that I only 

dreamed of as a kid playing in two Challenge Cup finals and 

one Grand Final. I have also experienced some of the toughest 

times a professional sportsman can go through, the injuries, 

relegations and administrations but I wouldn’t change a thing 

that I have been through and the lessons that they have taught 

me. I will be forever grateful to these clubs. 

Next, I would like to thank my teammates and staff for their 

support on and off the field. My family and I have made friends 

for life. 

The sponsors who have supported my testimonial and myself 

throughout my career have been wonderful. I’ve made many great 

connections and people that will stay friends for life. 

I would personally like to thank Gary Hetherington for 

supporting me throughout this testimonial. I don’t think Gary 

gets the credit he truly deserves for what he has done for this 

club and its players. Myself and my family can’t thank you 

enough for this Gary. 

I would like to thank the staff at Leeds Rhinos for supporting 

me throughout this testimonial. Special mentions to Gary 

Hetherington, Rob Oates, JJB, Rohan, Sian Jones, Emma 

Beech, Millie Oates, Phil Daly and the rest of the staff at 

AMT Headingley. 

I will always be grateful to my friends and family for their 

continuous support throughout my career. I hope I’ve made 

you proud and put a smile on your face in some tough 

times as a family. Especially my mum who has travelled 

far and wide to support me. 

Finally, to Georgia, Tobias and Miller. I wouldn’t be 

where I am today without your unwavering love and 

support. I hope I have set a great example for our two 

boys. I love you lots. 

Enjoy the game 


Donno


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DONNO’S 

DREAM TEAM 

Throughout his career with Bradford Bulls, Hull KR and Leeds 

Rhinos, James Donaldson has played with some of the greatest 

players in the Super League era. We asked the Rhinos forward 

to do the difficult job of picking his ultimate Dream Team. 

5 | RHINOS VS HULL KR


1 - BRETT 

KEARNEY 

I never saw Brett have 

many bad games. He 

was fearless under the 

high ball and you could 

always count on him. He 

joined the Bulls in 2010 

from Cronulla and was a 

great servant to the club. 

2 - ASH HANDLEY 

A great friend as well as team 

mate. He is Mr Dependable, 

who is one of the key men 

in our squad. When things 

get tough, Ash is always 

there lining up the carries. 

Very much appreciated 

by his team mates and 

someone who loves playing 

for his home town club. 

3 - HARRY 

NEWMAN 

Mad Baz! Harry lives and 

breathes Rugby League. 

He can come up with some 

magic out of nothing 

and I would never hear 

the end of it if he wasn’t 

included in this team. 

4 - KALLUM 

WATKINS 

Unfortunately I did not get 

long to play with Kallum at 

Leeds but he was always a 

tough guy to play against. 

On his day one of the best 

centres in the world.


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5 - TOM BRISCOE 

Despite being responsible 

for one of the toughest 

days in my career at 

Wembley, Tom had freaky 

strength, never gets put on 

his back. Always gets your 

set off to strong start! 

6 - DANNY 

McGUIRE 

One of the best I’ve 

played with. Danny 

always came up with a 

special play when your 

back was against the 

wall. A true leader! 

7 - LUKE GALE 

One of my best mates in the 

game, his family lived with us 

when they were having some 

work done to their house. He 

thrives off pressure and a big 

game player! I played with him 

at the start of my career at the 

Bulls and it was great to team 

up with him again at Leeds when 

we won the Challenge. Cup. 

9 - TERRY NEWTON 

As a young lad coming through at 

Bradford, Terry was an experienced 

veteran who had done it all with 

Wigan and Leeds by that stage. 

He was tough and nasty and 

never took a backwards step. 

Because of the physical side of 

the game people probably under 

estimated that he was a smart 

footballer who lead from the front. 

8 - MATTY PRIOR 

The war horse as I 

called him. He didn’t 

talk much but he 

led by his actions.

10 - SAM BURGESS 

In my opinion one of the best 

to have played the game. Sam 

took me under his wing at 16, 

hard to believe that he was 

only 19 himself but he had an 

old head on young shoulders 

having already achieved so 

much at a young age. He 

taught me some key lessons 

as a young professional. 


11 - STEVE 

MENZIES 

GOAT! Never known a 

player read the game like 

the Beaver. Whatever 

he did he was always 

the best at it, it was 

so valuable to me, 

especially in my position, 

to spend time around 

him in my early years. 

12 - ELLIOTT 

WHITEHEAD 

You only need to look how 

long he has been playing at 

the top of the game in the 

NRL to see how much ability 

Elliott has. He gets through a 

mountain of work and would 

always be on the end of 

every play, he especially loved 

getting on the end of kicks. 

13 - JAMIE 

LANGLEY 

Another good mate of 

mine. He was a hard 

grafter and the most 

professional player I’ve 

come across. You can 

always count on and trust 

Langers to be there with 

you. Some set of arms too!

THANK YOU TO…

DONNO'S CAREER IN PHOTOS 



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TEAMMATES 

PAY TRIBUTE 

TO DONALDSON 

The history of Rugby League 

contains a list of players 

whose true value is only really 

appreciated by the players 

who line up alongside them 

in the trenches. Their work, 

in the heat of battle, sets a 

platform for the star men 

to add the finishing touches 

but without their efforts, 

victory can never be secured. 

James Donaldson is a member 

of that hard working group 

of players and we caught 

up with three of his current 

team mates to find out 

what makes him such a key 

member of the Rhinos squad. 

Rhyse Martin told us, “James 

was the first bloke that I 

met when I came here, he 

introduced himself straight 

away. And then ever since 

that day, he's always looked 

after me and my family. We've 

probably gone through very 

similar stages in our lives 

where we've had kids at the 

same time, both our kids are 

couple of months apart. He's 

always been really hospitable 

and always took the overseas 

players in and cooked us feeds. 

“We enjoy coffee and hanging 

out, he's definitely been one 

of the greatest guys I’ve 

got to know through Rugby 

League and he's legendary 

for his cooking. His Yorkies 

are the best, he is very good 

at making Yorkshire puddings 

but the bad thing is he makes 

about 30 of them so you end 

up eating about six or seven! 

“He got his work ethic by the 

way he grew up watching 

his parents and what they 

did. And his dad worked very 

hard on the farm too, to give 

them everything that they've 

got and the support his mum 

gives him, he comes from a 

great family,” added Martin. 

Rhinos skipper Cameron Smith


added, “Dono epitomizes our 

culture, he leads by example. 

He leads with his actions off 

the field. He's always the first 

guy to reach out. He puts 

a lot of work into building 

connections with everyone, 

he's just an all around top 

bloke. It is going to be a very 

special day for him on Sunday. 


“If you ask every guy that he's 

played with or played against 

even, they'll all say the same 

thing. How much of a top bloke 

is and it deserves this. I said 

to him the other day that I’ll 

probably be wiping some tears 

when he's walking the squad 

out with his boys. He'll say 

that it's not about him and 

he'll want it just to be normal 

but I think it's important 

that we recognize him.” 

Ash Handley echoed those 

sentiments, adding, "James 

is a good friend as much as 

is just a team mate and I 

really get along with them. He 

looks after everyone and is a 

really caring person. He is very 

generous, he'll do anything for 

you. He's a real competitor 

and brings his teammates 

along with him. He's going to 

do all the hard things for his 

team and be very selfless as 

a person and a player. And 

you can always depend on 

him. He'll always stick his neck 

out for a friend, especially 

in the tackle and get us a 

penalty when we need one!"


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IN HIS OWN WORDS 

JAMES 

DONALDSON 

James Donaldson has faced challenges on and off the field during 

his career, each has helped shape him into the person he is today. 

Here James explains to us how each of those events has spurred 

him on to the next level.


Leeds is my home now. Since 

I've come to the club, it's 

changed my life in so many 

ways, whether it's on the field 

or off the field as well. I've 

got so much to be grateful to 

this club for. I still feel like I've 

got a lot of experience that I 

can bring to the club, to help 

players within the squad to 

grow, whether it's in training 

and pushing the standards or in 

the team. The team mentality 

is something I try and 

encourage around the players 

as well and I am over the moon 

to get a testimonial here. 

I think it's really a reward 

for myself. During my career, 

I've always tried to let my 

hard work do the talking. I 

moved away from home at 

16, dedicated all my life to 

rugby. I'm really proud that 

I stuck in there and feel like 

I'm getting the rewards from 

that on the back of it. 

I was let go by Hull KR in a 

tough way. I thought that 

I had a contract there and 

things were going to be 

positive after we were safe 

from relegation. And things 

soon changed with our stance, 

which left me in a tough place. 

I didn't have an agent, I was 

looking for clubs myself and 

I decided to text every Super 

League coach myself. I still 

had something to offer. 

I had some really nice replies, 

some clubs had already filled 

their salary cap but as time 

went by, it was getting tougher 

and tougher. My contract 

had run out with Hull KR and 

I didn’t have a wage coming 

in. It got to the middle of 

December and I put myself 

through my own pre-season 

at the local gym. I still knew I 

had that fire burning inside of 

me to play in Super League. 

I didn’t want to just accept 

that my journey was ending


and I was heading for a 

Championship club. I had 

some nice offers from 

Championship clubs and they 

were very understanding 

when I said that I would keep 

in touch if things changed. 

With no offers coming in 

I actually applied for a job 

working for Parcelforce 

delivering parcels over 

Christmas, which I thought 

would give me that little bit of 

money to keep myself afloat. 

I've been pretty sensible with 

money over my career, but 

I had to start planning for 

the worst case scenario. The 

strange thing was when I 

actually got an interview for 

Parcelforce, the next morning 

I woke up at 9:00 and I took a 

call off Kevin Sinfield. He said 

the Rhinos would like me to 

come down for a weeks trial. 

I was over the moon to get 

that call because I probably 

wasn't in a good place at the 

time. I was beginning to think 

that my career was probably 

over and then a couple of hours 

later, Huddersfield Giants rang 

me and wanted to offer me 

a trial as well, but I said I had 

already given Kev my word. 

I turned up the next day and 

things started to go pretty well 

in training. Leeds understood 

what I'm about as a person 

and a player; more hard work 

than probably talent but 

they liked what they saw. 

Then Leeds offered me a one 

year contract, which was 

to me probably a kind of 

extended trial. It was great for 

me after all I've been through 

in my career, with injuries, 

relegations, all the tough 

times, to be actually ending 

up getting an opportunity 

to play for a club like Leeds, 

it was something I never 

dreamed about again. 

My dad is a farmer and that's 

what his life revolves around. 

He's worked hard and given 

us all the life that we've got 

now, which is brilliant, but 

that all just comes off the 

back of his hard work. 

We're third-generation 

farmers now. His dad and his 

granddad were both farmers. 

I said to a few lads I've never 

ever heard my dad say, I don't 

want to go to work tomorrow. 

I've never heard those words 

ever come out of his mouth. 

When that alarm goes 

off, he’s straight out in the 

milking parlour and there's no 

complaining and no moaning 

whatever the weather, he 

is out there grafting and I


suppose that's where all my 

family get their motivation 

for their hard work from. 

We had an accident on our 

family farm. My brother was 

helping my dad put a building 

up, the metal framework 

was up about 30 or 40 foot 

up in the air. My brother 

was down on the floor when 

one of the pieces of wood 

slipped from the top. 

He was below picking up a 

tape measure when the piece 

of wood landed on him on 

the back of the neck. He was 

airlifted off the farm and 

flown straight to Newcastle 

intensive care, where they 

discovered he had broke his 

neck and snapped his spinal 

cord. I remember getting to 

the hospital in Newcastle 

and he was in an induced 

coma at the time with the 

metal frame around his body 

to hold his neck in place. 

He got moved to Thomas Cook 

Hospital in Middlesbrough, 

which was a spinal specialist 

unit, which was brilliant for 

my brother. And it was there 

that we found out that he 

was paralyzed but we had 

no understanding what 

was to come on the back of 

that. I think that it definitely 

brought us closer together 

as a family. My mum lived 

in the hospital for a year 

beside him and I am so proud 

of how he has managed to 

create a life for himself. 

He's got a son now, which 

is his motivation to keep 

going and keep strong. I 

remember scoring my first 

Super League try and it was 

right in front of my brother, 

that was an amazing feeling. 

He drives me now throughout 

my career. I think about him 

before I go into a game and 

how privileged I am and how 

lucky I am to have two of 

my legs and be able to walk, 

be able to feed myself. 

When I first joined Leeds, I 

found out that the Rhinos 

have a great connection with 

Leeds Beckett University, other 

clubs simply don't have that 

connection, which is brilliant. 

When I was younger, I 

never envisioned that 

I'd go to university, 

never in a million 

years, but it is 

something I'm 

really proud 

of. When the 

opportunity 

came to go 

to uni while 

playing, I 

snapped 

their 

hand off. 

I decided 

to do a 

three year 

degree in 

quantity 

surveying 

but I wanted to 

do it full time whilst 

still training so I could get it 

done as quickly as possible. 

I've got a job which I'm 

doing one day a week at the 

moment with a company 

called Rider Levett Bucknall 

(RLB) in Leeds as an 

Assistant Cost Manager. 

I was introduced to the 

company through my 

degree, that led to an 

opportunity to work 

with the company whilst 

I was still qualifying. 



CAREER IN 

NUMBERS 

We take a look at some of James Donaldson's major career 

numbers and stats as he prepares to face his former club 

Hull KR this afternoon at AMT Headingley… 

on dual registration, plus he returned 

to the Bulls for a sole game in 2022. 

5 CLUBS PLAYED FOR 

Donaldson earned his first opportunity to 

play Super League with Bradford Bulls at 

18 years old against Castleford Tigers in 

2009 and played at Odsal for five seasons 

before making a move to Hull KR in 2015, 

where he reached the Challenge Cup Final 

during a memorable first campaign. 

Two years later, he was part of the side that 

suffered relegation to the Championship in 

the Million Pound Game but he stuck with 

the team throughout 2017 and aided their 

instant promotion back into Super League. 

Released at the end of the 2018 campaign, 

the forward impressed during a trial 

with Leeds in the build-up to 2019 and 

earned himself a deal until the end of 

the season. A firm favourite among his 

teammates and the fans, he has stuck 

around for five seasons and counting; 

a highlight of his time being part of the 

2020 Challenge Cup Final winning squad. 

During his career, Donaldson also played 

for York Knights and Dewsbury Rams 

270 APPEARANCES 

Donaldson has made 

most of his career 

appearances with the 

Rhinos, particularly 

being utilised off the 

bench 82 times in 106 

games. 2023 saw the 

forward play 16 of 18 

games as a substitute. 

Before that, his 79 

appearances for Hull 

KR was restricted by 

an ACL injury during 

the club's sole season 

in the Championship, 

but he recovered to 

play 21 times in 2018. 

At the Bulls, Donaldson 

played 35 games in his first 

four seasons before breaking into the 

starting team in 2013 and 2014. He 

also started in a 26-22 win over Halifax 

Panthers during the 2023 season whilst 

on dual registration from Leeds. 

He played five games in total on dual 

registration with Dewsbury and York. 

3 MAJOR FINALS 

Throughout his career, Donaldson has ran 

out three times in major domestic finals. 

Wembley was his first final in 2015 with 

Hull KR as Chris Chester's side overcame 

the odds to book their place in the final, 

but Leeds proved too strong under the

arch. Five years later, 

Donaldson was back 

in the capital with 

the Rhinos and got 

his hands on his 

first piece of major 

silverware as Luke 

Gale kicked Leeds to a 

17-16 victory over Salford. 

Old Trafford had been just out 

of reach for the forward, but Rohan Smith’s 

arrival in 2022 helped guide the Rhinos and 

Donaldson to the Grand Final, where he 

came off the bench against St Helens. 

15 YEARS PLAYED 

Entering year number 15 in the league, 

Donaldson is the most experienced name 

in the Leeds squad and one of the longestserving 

players in the league going into 2024. 

Since debuting in 2009, he has made at 

least one appearance in every season 

(both Super League and Championship) 

and particularly during his six years 

at Leeds, he has been one of the 

most present players on the pitch. 

29 TRIES 

Donaldson didn't have to 

wait long to open his 

try-scoring account in 

Super League as he 

crossed the line in only 

his second appearance 

for Bradford against 

Wigan in 2009. He went 

on to score four times 

during his time at Odsal. 

At Hull KR, he opened his account in his 

second season with the club, but Donaldson's 

sole season in the Championship saw him 

record nine tries in an impressive campaign. 

In Rhinos colours, Donaldson was a scorer 

in the Easter win over Huddersfield as 

the forward came off the bench and 

latched on to Brad Dwyer's kick to score 

under the posts. 2020 saw him touch 

down three tries; two coming against 

his former club Hull KR in the league and 

Cup and one coming against Hull FC. 

During 2021 and 2022, he finished both 

seasons with two tries, his latest coming 

in a convincing 40-4 outing against 

Warrington on the road to Old Trafford. 

25 LEEDS RHINOS 

SQUAD NUMBER 

A shirt number that has become 

synonymous with the name Donaldson 

at the Rhinos, James has worn the 

number 25 shirt in each season 

he has been with the Rhinos. 

He will don the number again in 2024 too! 

CAREER STATS 

Year by Year APP SUB T G DG PTS 

2009… 

Bradford Bulls 

0 7 2 0 0 8 

2010… 4 10 0 0 0 0 

2011… 5 7 0 0 0 0 

2012… 0 2 0 0 0 0 

2013… 12 7 2 0 0 8 

2014… 22 3 0 0 0 0 

2013… 

Dewsbury Rams (dual reg) 

2015… 

Hull KR 

3 1 1 0 0 4 

4 23 0 0 0 0 

2016… 10 10 4 0 0 16 

2017… 8 3 9 0 0 36 

2018… 5 16 2 0 0 8 

2018… 

York RLFC Knights (dual reg) 

2019… 

Leeds Rhinos 

0 1 1 0 0 4 

3 22 1 0 0 4 

2020… 2 14 3 0 0 12 

2021… 10 14 2 0 0 8 

2022… 7 16 2 0 0 8 

2023… 2 16 0 0 0 0 

2023… 

Bradford Bulls (dual reg) 

1 0 0 0 0 0 

Totals APP SUB T G DG PTS 

Leeds Rhinos 2019- 24 82 8 0 0 32 

Hull KR 2015-18 27 52 15 0 0 60 

Bradford Bulls 2009-14, 

2023 (dual reg) 

Dewsbury Rams 2013 

(dual reg) 

York RLFC Knights 2018 

(dual reg) 

44 36 4 0 0 16 

3 1 1 0 0 4 

0 1 1 0 0 4 



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McNAMARA PROUD OF THE 

MAN DONALDSON HAS BECOME 

Former England Head Coach Steve McNamara has spoken 

about his pride about the man that James Donaldson 

has become ahead of his testimonial game. 

McNamara signed Donaldson 

as a teenager when he 

persuaded the young forward 

to reject offers from Wigan, 

where he had been training, 

and Leeds to sign for Bradford 

Bulls. The Catalans Dragons 

boss remembers several 

trips to Cumbria to speak to 

Donaldson and his family to 

finally get the deal done. 

He recalled, “My earliest 

memories of James is probably 

travelling up to Cumbria 

watching him play for Wath 

Brow and then meeting his 

mum and dad. I think they 

appreciated me making the 

effort to go up there and 

because we knew if were going 

to sign James, he would have 

to probably relocate it was 

important they were happy. 

We knew there was stiff 

competition for him but we 

were the first one who went 

up there. We welcomed him 

to Bradford Bulls and settled 

him into his first house. It 

must have been tough for a 

teenager to move house at a 

young age and settle into a new 

environment but he was great.” 

McNamara said he never had 

any doubts about Donaldson’s 

ability, he added, “He slotted 

into our system straight away. 

What made him stand out was 

for a young player was his effort 

and energy. He was a great 

kid with the ability to work as 

hard as he possibly could. He 

had some horrendous luck with 

some injuries but the way he's 

worked so hard to overcome 

those and play as many games 

as he has is remarkable. 

“Throughout his junior career, 

things went well for him but 

he was really tested with 

those moments of adversity, 

the injuries, his family 

situation as well with what 

happened to his brother, that 

is a very, very big thing for a 

young man to deal with. 

"I'm super, super proud of 

James in the way he deals 

with adversity and managed 

to stil radiate positivity. 

“James is what testimonials 

are all about. People like James 

Donaldson, from a working 

class family, working class 

background. He has worked 

his socks off, as hard as he 

possibly can to do everything 

he possibly can in the game. 

And I'm so, so glad that he is 

getting some recognition with 

his testimonial and everything 

else around it for him this 

season and the commitment 

he's shown to himself is great. 

“I've certainly had an affinity 

with James from growing up, 

espcially having spent time with 

the family after his brother's 

accident. We've got a really 

close connection with him. 

You spend so much time with 

players as a coach that they 

become like your sons, your 

kids. For James to come to 

the Bulls at such an early age 

and to have played a small 

part to help influence and 

shape his career is obviously 

something I am proud of. 

He has certainly had a great 

upbringing from his parents. 

But credit to him, the adversity 

he has faced. Most people 

would have stopped at that 

point. But I'm sure he's still got 

a good few years left in him.” 

On a personal note, McNamara 

added, “Congratulations 

James. I'm so, so proud of 

you. A boy coming to live in 

Bradford, to deal with the 

pressure of being a Super 

League player, a young 

star having to cope with 

some injuries and obviously 

the accident with your 

brother, you are a credit to 

yourself and your family.” 



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HULL KR 

2024 PREVIEW 

Hull KR enters one of the club's most exciting 

Super League seasons in 2024 off the back 

of Willie Peters' debut year in charge. 

Finishing 2023 with a Play-Off appearance 

and Challenge Cup Final outing, the club 

has invested heavily in the squad for the 

upcoming campaign with ten players 

coming in, as well as the backroom staff. 

England international Oliver Gildart, Kiwi 

Peta Hiku, Niall Evalds and Joe Burgess 

all add to Peters’ backline options, plus 

Tyrone May joins from last year's Grand 

Finalists Catalans to partner Mikey Lewis 

who signed a five-year deal to stay at the 

club until 2028. Wakefield forwards Jai 

Whitbread and Kelepi Tanginoa also move 

east alongside former Rhinos Academy 

products AJ Wallace and Neil Tchamambe. 

Jordan Abdull, Kane Linnett, Brad Schneider 

and Shaun Kenny-Dowall are some of the 

notable departures, but although he has 

hung up the playing boots, Kenny-Dowall 

has stayed at Sewell Group Craven Park 

as a Development Coach for 2024. Another 

big move amongst the coaching staff is the 

arrival of Danny Ward, after he helped secure 

Super League safety for Castleford in 2023. 

With pre-season approaching its final 

stages, the Robins arrived back from 

a training camp in Tenerife and played 

Sheffield Eagles last Sunday. A young 

side went down 26-24 but today’s clash 

is an important one for the Robins 

to get up to full speed ahead of their 

huge round-one clash with cross-city 

rivals Hull FC in the season opener. 


TRANSFERS 

INS: 

OLIVER GILDART 

(LEIGH LEOPARDS) 

PETA HIKU 

(NORTH QUEENSLAND 

COWBOYS) 

AJ WALLACE 

(BRADFORD BULLS) 

TYRONE MAY 

(CATALANS DRAGONS) 

NIALL EVALDS 

(CASTLEFORD TIGERS) 

JAI WHITBREAD 

(WAKEFIELD TRINITY) 

KELEPI TANGINOA 

(WAKEFIELD TRINITY) 

REISS BUTTERWORTH 

(DEWSBURY RAMS) 

JOE BURGESS 

(SALFORD RED DEVILS) 

NEIL TCHAMAMBE 

(LEEDS RHINOS) 

OUTS: 

ETHAN RYAN 

(SALFORD RED DEVILS) 

SAM WOOD 


JIMMY KEINHORST 

(YORK KNIGHTS) 

BRAD SCHNEIDER 

(PENRITH PANTHERS) 

JACK WALKER (HULL FC) 

GREG RICHARDS (TOULOUSE) 

ROWAN MILNES 


RHYS KENNEDY 

(LONDON BRONCOS) 

LUIS JOHNSON (RELEASED) 

CONNOR MOORE 

(SAINT-GAUDENS BEARS) 

SHAUN KENNY-DOWALL 

(RETIREMENT) 

KANE LINNETT (RETIREMENT - 

JOINED SARINA CROCODILES) 

JORDAN ABDULL (SEASON-LONG 

LOAN, CATALANS DRAGONS)


THE COACH 

Winning the Craven Park faithful over 

with a top-four finish and Challenge Cup 

Final appearance, Willie Peters aims to 

take Hull KR to the next level in 2024. 

Having developed his coaching under Trent 

Barrett, Wayne Bennett, Anthony Seibold 

and Adam O’Brien in the NRL, Peters 

returned to Super League for the first time 

since 2004 when he ended his playing career 

with Widnes, and hit the ground running 

with a round-one win over Wigan in 2023. 

Going on to record 16 league wins, he guided 

the club to within 80 minutes of Old Trafford 

and also came one point short of lifting the 

Challenge Cup in a 17-16 defeat to Leigh. 

2024 is a new season though and Peters 

is already eyeing up the derby clash with 

Hull FC. Speaking to the club’s website, 

he said: “We’re building for round one and 

that’s the priority to be honest. The friendly 

against Leeds will be the squad that we 

think is going to be there for round one. 

There will be players fighting for positions 

so we’re going to go out and put in a 

performance but our focus is mainly for 

round one. That’s what we’re striving for.” 

KEY SIGNINGS 

OLIVER GILDART 

Returning permanently to Super 

League from the NRL Dolphins, 

Oliver Gildart is a big signing ahead 

of the new season. A two-time 

Grand Final winner with Wigan 

over seven seasons at the DW 

Stadium, he earned international 

honours with England and Great 

Britain and also had the opportunity 

to play in the NRL with Sydney 

Roosters and Wests Tigers in 2022. 

TYRONE MAY 

A Grand Finalist with Catalans 

after one of his best Super League 

seasons, May arrives at Hull KR 

to join Mikey Lewis in an exciting 

half-back partnership. Previously 

at Penrith Panthers where he 

was a Grand Final winner in 2021, 

he was utilised as a centre and 

half back at the Dragons before 

settling alongside Mitchell Pearce 

for the majority of 2023. 

PETA HIKU 

Centre Hiku returns to Super League 

for the first time since 2018 when he 

helped the Wolves survive relegation. 

The 31-year-old Kiwi international 

has over 200 NRL appearances to his 

name, having recently been a part 

of Todd Payten’s North Queensland 

side that just missed out on the 

Finals in 2023. Before that, he spent 

four years at the Warriors as well as 

having spells with Penrith and Manly.

Nestled in the Western Lakes and fells of Cumbria, the Donaldson 

family have been dairy farming for generations. 

At Donaldsons dairy our cows truly are the heart of our family and 

business. 

Proud of our heritage, we have bottled our finest product yet - 

100% fresh whole milk, produced under the highest welfare 

standards, from our well known Rheda herd. 

We believe Happy cows produce deliciously nutritious milk. From 

grass to glass with zero miles, we pasteurise (not homogenise) our 

fresh milk daily, ready for you to enjoy fresh creamy milk or add a 

milkshake flavour. 

Your Family and all at Donaldsons Dairy & 

Moos on the Moor wish to congratulate James 

Donaldson on your fantastic RL career and 

testimonial. 



LINE-UPS 

LEEDS RHINOS 

Lachlan Miller 1 

David Fusitu’a 2 

Harry Newman 3 

Ash Handley 5 

Brodie Croft 6 

Matt Frawley 7 

Mikolaj Oledzki 8 

Andy Ackers 9 

Ben Littlewood 11 

Rhyse Martin 12 

Cameron Smith (c) 13 

Jarrod O’Connor 14 

Justin Sangare 17 

Derrell Olpherts 19 

Morgan Gannon 20 

Jack Sinfield 21 

Leon Ruan 23 

Luis Roberts 24 

James Donaldson 25 

Corey Johnson 26 

Tom Nicholson-Watton 30 

MATCH 

SPONSORS 

MATCH 

OFFICIALS 

REFEREE: 

CHRIS KENDALL 

TOUCH JUDGE 1: 

MARK CRAVEN 

TOUCH JUDGE 2: 

RICHARD THOMPSON 

HULL KR 

1 Peta Hiku 

2 Niall Evalds 

3 Tom Opacic 

4 Oliver Gildart 

5 Ryan Hall 

7 Mikey Lewis 

8 Sauaso Sue 

9 Jez Litten 

10 George King 

11 Dean Hadley 

12 James Batchelor 

13 Elliot Minchella 

14 Matt Parcell 

15 Sam Luckley 

16 Jai Whitbread 

17 Matty Storton 

19 Yusuf Aydin 

20 Kelepi Tanginoa 

21 Corey Hall 

27 Tyrone May 

35 Joe Burgess 

TICKETS.THERHINOS.CO.UK

Leeds Rhinos vs Hull KR

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