Duo set to leave Rhinos Women

Leeds Rhinos Women have confirmed the departures of Grand Final winners Sam Hulme and Emma Lumley.

Sam Hulme, made her Rhinos debut in 2021 after coming through the club’s Academy.  She made nine appearances in her first season and played in that year’s Grand Final.  In 2022 she was a regular in the team and featured in the Challenge Cup Final at Elland Road and the winning Grand Final against York.  In total, she made 26 appearances and scored nine tries and 33 goals.

Emma Lumley joined the Rhinos in 2022 from Castleford Tigers where she had co-captained the club.  She began her playing career in Rugby Union with Wasps before switching codes to join Castleford Tigers in 2017.  The London-born prop also played in the Tigers side who took on the Rhinos in two Challenge Cup Finals and a Grand Final and earned a call-up into the England Performance Unit.  She played 11 times for the Rhinos and was part of that year’s Grand Final winning squad.

Speaking about the players, Leeds Rhinos Women’s head coach Lois Forsell said: “Sam started with our Academy quite close to the inception of the team so she has been with us a long time. She has shown massive commitment in travelling from the  North East for training sessions and games and I know the girls who travel from there have a close bond and will have fond memories of playing together.  It was a bit of a tough year for Sam last year as she didn’t get as much game time as she would have hoped for.  She’s a young player and is looking to get more game time in the half-back role.  She is weighing up her options and I am sure she will be snapped up by another Super League team.  Hopefully, she will get more game time and she is well aware it’s never a closed door and, she will be missed by everyone at the club.  I hope to see her do well and wish her the best for the future.

“Emma signed from Castleford Tigers and was one of the first signings I made as head coach.  The last game she played for us was the Grand Final in 2022 and this year she came back for a little bit to train with us after I had spoken with her about needing a little bit of her spark, personality and leadership quality in the squad and she came in and she did that.  She’s now content that she’s going to hang up her boots and retire.  We will miss her, she is a great person and player.  She has a warm personality and good energy which is infectious and she brought people along with her and was a good person to have around the team.  The girls would say when they lined up next to her they would get 100% effort and commitment to the team and them as players and they would want to give that back.”