Danny McGuire has revealed he is “almost certain” where he will play next year after admitting the time was right to end his lifelong association with Leeds at the end of this season.
McGuire, who has been at Leeds since the age of 12, will leave Headingley after reaching a mutual agreement with the Rhinos to move on from the club with which he has won seven Super League titles during an illustrious playing career.
His departure from Leeds will not be the end of his playing career, however. Promotion-chasing Hull Kingston Rovers, where McGuire’s former team-mate, Jamie Peacock, is the head of rugby, are understood to be the frontrunners for his signature.
“I’m almost certain where I’ll play,” he said. “It just needs a few more details finalising before it all goes public. That’ll all be sorted in the next couple of weeks hopefully, and then I can focus on a strong finish with Leeds and leaving on a high.”
McGuire has led Leeds to second in Super League and a Challenge Cup semi-final so far in 2017, and he insists he can still make a valuable contribution despite his time with his hometown club coming to an end. “I really do believe I can offer someone something, and in a way, that’s made it harder,” he said.
“Knowing I wanted to continue but it wasn’t right to stay at Leeds has been the hardest thing to contend with. But having spent two decades here, the opportunity of a fresh challenge will do me the world of good. I’m excited about it all: but there’s a job to finish first.”
McGuire also admitted he did not want to stand in the way of some of the club’s young players by overstaying his welcome at Headingley, saying the end of the season is the right time to leave. “They’ve signed Richie Myler but they’ve also got Jordan Lilley, who is ready to lead a Leeds team now,” he said.
“I’ve got a great relationship with Gary [Hetherington, the chief executive] and we knew it was right. I never thought I’d play anywhere else but just as I got the opportunity as a youngster, it’s now the right thing to do to move aside. It’s not a retirement speech from me, it’s just a separation from Leeds.”
The 34-year-old is one of the modern era’s most decorated players: only one man, his close friend Peacock, has won more Grand Finals than the seven McGuire has won. And after helping guide the club through a difficult 2016 campaign, he says he is determined to finish on a high with title number eight.
“It’d be up there with the best of them,” he said of potential success this year. “With being captain now and the struggles we had last year, it would be special. JP and Kevin [Sinfield] finished on a high – hopefully I can do the same in a Leeds shirt.”
