Leeds Rhinos' Brodie Croft explains why he left Salford Red Devils, predicts tough Super League opener

Brodie Croft will make his competitive Leeds Rhinos debut against his former club, Salford Red Devils, this week. Picture by Simon Hulme.

By his own admission he took some persuading to make the move, but Brodie Croft will be all in for Leeds Rhinos when his present and past sides meet this week.

The 2022 Man of Steel joined Rhinos for a significant six-figure sum last October, eight months after signing a new deal intended to keep him at Salford Red Devils until 2030. It was one of the big off-season stories and the fixture planners capitalised by pairing the teams together in Betfred Super League round one, at AMT this Friday.

Since day one Croft has insisted it was a case of joining Leeds for positive reasons rather than actively wanting to leave Salford. Reflecting on the move, the Australian stand-off recalled: “It didn’t happen overnight and there were days when I was thinking I’d stay at Salford, then the next day I’d wake up and think [I’ll go to] Leeds. When it came to it I felt the pros of coming to Leeds outweighed the cons of staying at Salford. I made the decision for my family and my career and it’s exciting what we can do here with this squad.”

Explaining what swung the deal Rhinos’ way, the 26-year-old said: “I was quite settled at Salford, I had just bought a house in Worsley and I loved the playing group and the coaches there. The prospect of leaving was a bit daunting and I didn’t know what to think of it at the time.

Then a Salford player, Brodie Croft was the Steve Prescott MBE Man of Steel in 2022. Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWpix.com.

“There was a lot of to-ing and fro-ing and writing down the pros and cons of both Salford and Leeds. A lot of thought went into it, it didn’t happen overnight, that’s for sure, but at the end of the day I made the best decision I felt at the time for my family, myself and my career. And it really excited me, the prospect of this Leeds squad and the capabilities I am looking forward to hopefully fulfilling.”

Leeds’ past Super League history, with eight Grand Final wins to their name, also worked in their favour. Croft confessed: “I am a bit of a rugby league nerd so I knew all about it. We watched the Super League games when I was a kid and when I was a kid Leeds were the team that were winning everything.

“That was another part of this decision, the success Leeds have had and the chance to play for a club like Leeds. It is such a privilege to even be mentioned, I have got to pinch myself sometimes. To get a chance to play for Leeds is pretty special. It is really exciting to be able to pull on a Leeds jersey and I can’t wait for the season to come around and see what we can do.”

Salford have lost a number of key players over the off-season, including hooker Andy Ackers who signed for Rhinos on the same day as Croft. The stand-off admitted he feels for his old club and fans, but there’ll be no divided loyalties this week. “I’ve got a good relationship with the boys and Rowls [coach Paul Rowley] so it was an extremely tough decision to leave, because of the people there,” he added. “I loved playing with that group and the coaches there.