Ferres rejoins Rhinos

Leeds Rhinos have bolstered their squad with the loan signing of Featherstone Rovers pair James Harrison, 24, and Brett Ferres, 34, on an initial one month deal. 

Ferres re-joins the Rhinos having left the club last season after four seasons at Emerald Headingley. The 2017 Grand Final winner made 86 appearances previously for the Rhinos and has 14 caps for England from his time at Bradford, Wakefield, Castleford and Huddersfield. 

Leeds-born James Harrison is a 24-year-old second rower. He signed for Featherstone Rovers from Batley Bulldogs in 2019. Last season he made 28 appearances, scoring seven tries. He scored in each of the play-off victories over Leigh, York and Toulouse to help Rovers reach the 2019 Championship Grand Final against Toronto.

In the short time Rovers played this season he managed four tries, scoring against Batley, Bradford, London and Swinton.

Commenting on the signings, Leeds Rhinos Director of Rugby Kevin Sinfield said, “We have a busy period of games coming up and we felt the need to bolster our squad both in terms of numbers in training but also to have options in case of injuries. Inevitably with shorter gaps between games, there will be players who miss fixtures with minor injuries on a week to week basis and in James and Brett we feel we are bringing players with a very specific purpose in mind. 

“James is a talented young English player who has made a mark in the Championship. He is someone we have been monitoring for a while and this is a good chance to bring him in to see how he adapts to our training environment. He will be working with his Featherstone coach, James Webster, at the Rhinos at a time when Rovers are not able to play fixtures because of the Covid-19 restrictions on the Championship so it is a situation that works for everyone. 

“Brett is someone we know well here at the Rhinos. It is only nine months since he left the club and I know he will slot seamlessly back into our organisation. He is aware of the role we are looking for him to perform in helping develop our young back rowers but also giving us a hugely experienced member of our squad to call upon when needed. 

“We have Dom Crosby and Stevie Ward unavailable for an indefinite period whilst Adam Cuthbertson suffered a back injury in the win over Salford, that is currently being assessed. James Donaldson and Alex Mellor will hopefully be back available soon but the new rules do place a heavy burden on the middle players and bringing in Brett and James will give us strength in depth,?? added Sinfield.