Croft aiming to join the list of Super League legends at Leeds Rhinos

Former Man of Steel Brodie Croft says he is bought in to the Leeds Rhinos culture and will be looking to emulate some of the club’s modern legends when he pulls the famous blue and amber on in the Betfred Super League this season.

Croft made a high-profile move from the Salford Red Devils in the off-season and has told Betfred that he wants to leave his mark at a club he followed from afar as a boy.

“It was extremely humbling for a club like Leeds to want to come and get a player like me,” says the 26-year-old. “Knowing the history and tradition of the club, and what they’re building here as well with this group that’s coming through, I know that they’ve had success in the past and that’s what I want to be a part of; I want to be a success here at Leeds.

“I remember growing up as a kid in Australia, and, being a rugby league nerd, I had a good interest in Super League and Leeds were the team coming through. They were winning all the comps, and they’ve got so many great names who have pulled on the jersey before and you want to do them proud as well.

“I’m really looking forward to having a coffee with your Kevin Sinfields, your Jamie Peacocks. To come to a club like Leeds with their history, their heritage, their tradition, it’s really special and a humbling experience.

“Even just doing the walking tour of the stadium with Gary Hetherington, seeing all the names on the boards, you know you’re part of something really big here. I just can’t wait to get stuck in and hopefully do myself and my family and the club proud, and hopefully I can leave my mark on the club in a special way.”

After two years with Salford, midway through which he signed a seven-year contract with the Red Devils which allowed the club to demand a big transfer fee for his services, Croft made the move across the Pennines along with Andy Ackers. And the star half-back says the transition alongside the England hooker has helped him to bed in quickly at Headingley.

“It helps on a few levels, firstly he’s just a good mate of mine. I love spending time with him, he lives about 10-15 minutes away from me so we drive in together as well, that helps the commute from where we’re living into Leeds,” he explains.

“Him being the dummy half as well, he’s the guy that I get the ball off a lot of the time, so I feel like his game complements my game a lot and we can bring out the best in each other. To have someone like him come across with me has really helped and we’re both just so excited to get stuck into it with this group of boys.”

Another new face at the Rhinos is former Cronulla Sharks and Newcastle Knights full-back

Lachie Miller, who has revealed that conversations with a couple of ex-Leeds stalwarts helped him come to the decision to move to the other side of the world.

“I actually had Danny Buderus and Brian McDermott back at the Knights, and they had a pretty long stint [at Leeds] the both of them, so I spoke to both of them and they sold it for me,” Miller tells Betfred.

“When I spoke to [head coach] Rohan Smith he just seemed like he had a really good head, the way he wanted to play suited how I wanted to play.

“I knew Leeds was one of the bigger clubs and had a really rich history, so obviously that helped as well.

“I like to bring the energy if I can, anywhere I can on the field. I like to try to adapt and suit who we have, but I like to bring energy and take some runs.”

Miller adds that one of the biggest selling points was the thought of stepping out at Wembley in the Betfred Challenge Cup final, in what will be his first taste of knockout rugby league.

“Something that I thought when I was coming over was really cool, and would be pretty cool if it was in the NRL, is that Challenge Cup, having that in-season tournament. That was one of the selling points as well, coming over and playing in that given the history. It would be really good to go well in that, so when we get around to it hopefully we can pull some wins.”

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