RYAN Hall will team up with Sinfield in a Leeds shirt again – definitely Jack, not ‘son of Kevin.’
The iconic winger, who has won six Super League titles at the club, has returned to Headingley after stints in Australia with Sydney Roosters and at Hull KR and found some things have not changed.
His spot in the changing room at the Rhinos’ Kirkstall training ground is the same as his first stint, his locker is the same, the surname of one of his team-mates is the same.
However, as he gets ready for his comeback after six years away in today’s trial match with Wakefield, he is ready to let the 20-year-old be his own man.
Hall, who joined Leeds’ academy when Sinfield was just two-years-old, said: “I’ve known Jack since he was a toddler but he’s earned the right to be where he is now.
“He’s there on merit. You can’t just turn up just because he has the name Sinfield and it’s good to be around him.
“Obviously, he’s very proud of his dad but I’m sure he wants to create his own story for himself. Let him be Jack, not son of Kevin.
“I’ve seen people almost judge him on what his dad’s done. That’s not very fair. Let Jack be Jack.”
Hall’s return is going back to the future. In his first stint at Leeds, they won the lot.
Since then, the Rhinos have dropped outside Super League’s top six, but boss Brad Arthur is rebuilding.
And few would be happier if they get back to the top table than self-confessed fan Hall, whose ‘farewell’ speech in 2018 rings true.
“As a fan, the last couple of years have been frustrating – we haven’t won anything,” he added. “When I was last at Leeds, we were always in and around the trophies.
“So to be eighth last season with all the resources, for them not to achieve was frustrating.
“At my last home game, I did a speech to the crowd saying, ‘One day it would be great to pull on a Leeds shirt again.’ I never said never – now it looks set to come true.
“It won’t be emotional, though, to play for Leeds again. I’ve got a job to do.
“The first day was interesting as it wasn’t like I was going into enemy territory – while I was away, I went to Kirkstall a few times.
“It was a bit odd going through the doors again but that was the first day only. Since then, I’m back in my old spot in the changing room, I’ve got my usual locker.
“I was just coming as a new player and I’d get put where I get put. It’s like, ‘You’re new. This space is available.’
“But I asked Ash Handley, ‘What’s the score?’ He said, ‘You can sit wherever you want.’
Wakefield go to Headingley as a Super League club once again following promotion – a much improved Super League club.
No longer are Trinity happy to bump around the bottom, Darryl Powell has his sights on the top six.
But so does Arthur and Hall can already tell things are set up to get there.
Hall told SunSport: “The feel around the place is different. We now do the majority of our field sessions at Headingley, which we never used to do.
“But the gym’s the same – 20kgs is still 20kgs – and we’re still aiming for the top and have the same championship mindset. I’m glad that’s still there.
“I’ve been part of some good teams, so I know what’s required and we’re training that way. We’re not just training blindly either, we’ve got some direction and purpose.
“Even this game is there for a reason. Brad’s keen to see where we’re at – it’s pretty easy to look good when you train among yourselves. It’s when you come up against someone else who’s training hard when you find out.
“Everyone seems to say the same thing – be glad we’re training hard, we know we can produce that on the field.”
