Play-Offs: Mighty McDonnell

Leeds Rhinos’ ever-reliable James McDonnell is hopeful of continuing a dream week with a Betfred Super League Play-Off victory over St Helens on Saturday following his selection in the 2025 Dream Team.

“It’s an honour to be named in the Dream Team,” said the 25-year-old second rower, who has been ever-present in the Rhinos side this year.

“Just looking at the company I’m surrounded with, is top notch. It’s great to be included in such a high-class team.”

McDonnell has played an integral role in the Rhinos’ rise to fourth place and his humongous efforts in the back row have helped to drive his side to their first top four finish since 2017.

Everyone has been talking about the rejuvenated Leeds Rhinos. They have been portraying glimpses of their glory days and have, without a doubt, been one of the league’s chief entertainers in 2025.

The flick pass from James McDonnell ?‍?#SuperLeague pic.twitter.com/8gxniP0VEM

— Betfred Super League (@SuperLeague) April 18, 2025

“I think we’ve took it to a new level this year and built on what’s been in the past,” McDonnell explained.

“It’s such a good team environment at the minute and everyone gets rewarded for what they do. It’s so enjoyable.

“Brad [Arthur] has played a massive part coming in and has added a lot of direction to us and held us accountable in areas that we previously weren’t.

“He builds you from the base up with all the accountability and the effort areas.

“Then you’ve got your Lachie Millers, Brodie Crofts and Jake Connors who have that platform to go and on and express their abilities. Our pack and the forwards then really hang their hats on doing the hard yards which helps the other players be able to come alive a lot.

“I think we’ve had success throughout the year, but I don’t think it will be remembered if we don’t go and do a job at Old Trafford, so that’s what we’ve got to chase now.”

McDonnell has arguably gone under the radar in 2025, although it’s no secret he has evolved into of the best second rowers in the competition.

Perhaps his efforts have sometimes gone unnoticed, but the stats never lie – and he is Super League’s fifth top tackler with a whopping 936 tackles made after 27 rounds.

The fancy pieces of play are often the easiest to spot, as well as the most exciting to watch, but hard graft goes a long way too:

“Graft is probably a key word for me. The hard graft and consistency has been key for me. Being in a team that’s doing so well also means you’re able to focus on your game a lot.

“I’ve really took it on myself to really go and work on my game away from the pitch and away from the training ground. And I think I’ve found the benefit from doing that, so hopefully I can continue these performances!

“I still think there’s a lot I can build on in my game, especially the attacking side. I'll just be working continuously hard to try and better myself and if I can chase a bit of silverware along the way then that would be nice.”

The highlights reel is a long one for Leeds in 2025, but a few immediately sprung to mind for McDonnell, including his fantastic four-try haul away at Salford:

“Four tries against Salford would stick out for me. I could have got five, but Harry Newman had other ideas! I will have to mention that one.

“That’s got to be a highlight for me – to go and score four tries is a bit surreal.

“The Wigan win at home in Round 5 stands out and so does Hull KR at home just a few weeks ago when we got the best of them [Round 23]. They have all been really good games to play in.”

The Rhinos haven’t appeared at Old Trafford since 2022, where they lost 24-12 to St Helens, who are their opponents on Saturday Night.

Interestingly, this will be the 15th Play-Off game between the two sides, but with home advantage in their upcoming Eliminator, McDonnell is feeling confident:

“We’re only two games away from a massive game at Old Trafford and we’ve shown that we can do it - we’ve beaten every team in the Play-Offs at some point this year, so we know that we’re more than capable of doing it.

“We’re going have to perform for 80 minutes against St Helens on Saturday.

“I'm expecting an intense game from Saints. I know we've played them four times this year already and they’ve beat us three, so we definitely owe them one.

“They've got one of the best middle packs in the game, as do we, so it's going to be a huge battle in the middle.

“We quickly went over some fixes from the Wigan game which will be relevant going into the weekend, but all focus is heavily on St Helens now.”

Would you believe it's been eight years since the eight-times champions last lifted the Super League trophy?

The Rhinos have certainly got the belief, determination and the talent to go the distance, but would it mean to McDonnell to move to within 80 minutes of an inaugural Grand Final appearance?

“It would mean an awful lot. It’s weird to think back in November last year when you started pre-season training and how tough we actually did it and how tough we trained and then the season we’ve had and the success; to finally get there has been the goal all along, so it would be pretty surreal.”

Do Leeds Rhinos' fans dare to dream for some long-awaited Super League silverware?

Watch Leeds Rhinos v St Helens’ Betfred Super League Play-Off Eliminator on Saturday 27 September, live on Sky Sports (K.O. 8pm).

Tickets are available for this fixture here (Rhinos) and here (Saints)!