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Rugby League Transfers Heating Up for 2025 Season
As the 2024 rugby league season nears its conclusion, the transfer market for the 2025 campaign is already in full swing. It’s official: clubs can now officially enter into negotiations with players whose existing contracts are set to expire, and the rumor mill is abuzz with several high-profile moves.
In recent weeks, speculation has been rife regarding the futures of some of the most prominent players whose contracts are up for renewal at the end of this year. While the real business is yet to fully unfold, there are strong reports that a number of players have already secured their plans for 2025 and beyond.
One of the biggest moves on the cards is the return of Tom Johnstone to his former club, Wakefield Trinity. The Catalans Dragons winger is widely assumed to have finalized a deal to rejoin the club where he first made his name as one of Super League’s biggest breakthrough talents. French publication L’Independent revealed earlier this year that Johnstone was deep in negotiations with Trinity over the move.
Johnstone won’t be the only Catalans player heading to Belle Vue, as England international Mike McMeeken is also believed to have agreed a lucrative package to sign with Wakefield in 2025. The Yorkshire Post reported the club’s interest in the forward back in January, and it’s understood a deal is now all but complete.
Another Englishman departing the Dragons is winger Tom Davies, who is set to join Hull KR next season. Rugby League Live revealed the move was expected before the current campaign had even started, with Rovers long-term admirers of the player.
While the Catalans will lose several key players, they look set to make a marquee signing of their own, with reports suggesting they have targeted St Helens star Tommy Makinson. There was even recent speculation on social media that a deal had already been completed.
Elsewhere, veteran winger Ryan Hall has confirmed he will be leaving Hull KR at the end of the season and returning to Leeds Rhinos, the club where he made his name, signing a one-year deal before retiring and taking up an off-field role.
It’s not just Super League transfers making headlines, either. According to reports in Australia, St Helens scrum-half Lewis Dodd is on the verge of agreeing a multi-year deal to join South Sydney Rabbitohs in the NRL for 2025.
With the 2025 rugby league transfer market already heating up, fans can expect more high-profile moves to be announced in the coming months as clubs look to strengthen their squads for the challenges ahead.
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