My only issue is the spin for RU. But he'll be joining a second tier club when most players are long retired. I imagine they'll be wanting his influence in and around the team as much as anything. The only real downside would be if he ends up in the RU coaching world like Edwards, Ford and Farrell - that would not be good for RL at all.

As a player he's one of those whose highlights reel may be a bit lacking (especially compared to say Burrow and McGuire at the same club) but his overall impact for Leeds has been immense. Captaining his club to 6 GFs and CC, third highest point scorer of all time and captaining his country are a marvellous legacy.

Lets not forget GB/England haven't had a winning captain in terms of tournaments or anything involving Australia for 40 years so you can't say the likes of Hanley were particularly successful by that measure either.

Or, you could have put, "he could retire now with the blessing of a small number of narrow minded people who probably have never met him"

Not sure what world you live in but I live in the one where most need to work for a living. That included RL players. I am not going to pretend to know what KS has earned in his working life so far, but I dear say it's not enough to completely stop working. The chance of earning a living through sport would be jumped at by most who contribute to this forum, I dear also say by those who are coming to the end of an RL career.

Agreed
However, the guy is unlikely to be a "star" in Union and it seems strange that he couldn't attract a better offer and remain in RL.
Maybe it was Leeds or nothing. However, as captain on club and country (retired), this still looks like a slap in the face for the code that he has served with distinction throughout his long career.
Again, he's an articulate guy that would have been great as an ambassador for the sport, on TV etc.

Perhaps Leeds Carnegie have lofty ambitions and want to gain promotion to the top flight of Union and a strong League and Union outfit at Headingly would certainly improve the "Leeds" brand and increase revenue into Headingley.

aren't Leeds' has-beens supposed to go to Wakefield ?

He was quoted as saying he didn't ever want to play against Leeds.

As for him being a fluent communicator on the game, I wouldn't bet against his featuring in some future capacity. He made it known ages ago that he'd like to give union a crack and at this stage I wouldn't read any more into it.

As much as I have admired the bloke as a person & a player I don't think he comes across that well as a communicator. Whether that's him not letting his professionalism slip & he will relax more when retired I don't know.

Yeah, my bad. I meant compared to the current crop of pundits.

He's a bit stunted in an interview situation, but that's not his natural environment. On the pitch he's visibly expressive hen communicating. I would suggest he's probably the same in the changing rooms. I'm sre that if he settled into the TV studio environment he could imropve, but whether he'd be charismatic enough to get a TV gig long term, im not sure.

I'd say he is retiring from League as a whino's legend , if he wants to get himself a nice little retirement package playing Union whats the issue? Good on him.

Will he really be on that much at a Championship RU club?

He's a deep thinker and a really bright bloke. I always get the feeling he's being very careful with his words in an interview situation, which doesn't come across particularly well and gives the impression of being dour or stunted.

When you see what happens to the likes of Jason Robinson and Andy Farrell when they went to RU and Adrian Morley or Gareth Ellis when they went to NRL, where both leagues put a lot of effort into teaching players how to handle the media, I reckon Sky Sports could easily make Sinfield a great tv personality.
He has the brains, just not the experience..................easily changed imho.

Not sure what the salary cap is but clubs get £350,000 in central funding. I don't think he's gone to union for the money.
Sinfield must be on £150k+ at the Rhinos and could have attracted decent money from someone like Wakie/Cas.

He's a long-time fan of Union and has always had a hankering to play, so good luck to him. It will be a labour of love for him more than having a pension, if it was about money he'd have left for a cashed-up Aviva team yonks ago.

£120k is the top wage bracket at Leeds. Which will be where Sinfield and Peacock are at the moment so £240k off next year's cap straight away.

I don't think it's anything to do with money to be honest. I'd be suprised if he's on any more at Carnegie than at the Rhinos. I reckon he realised his body isn't managing to keep going at the top level of SL anymore, hence the retirement from internationals and move from loose forward to stand off. A bit like Peacock taking on a new challenge at Hull KR, I think Sinfield sees giving Union a go as a new challenge yet can still stay affiliated with the club he loves.

Just as a bit of backup to that I looked up his tackling stats, they're ridiculous.

He's been in Leeds top 5 tacklers every year since 2003 (that's as far back as the stats go) except 2006.
He was Leeds top tackler in 2003, 2007, 2008 & 2009.
And since 2007 has been Leeds 2nd top tackler.

#of tackles 2007-2014:
Peacock - 5,218
Sinfield - 5,152
JJB - 4,667
Ablett - 3,986

It's no wonder he signed for Union, the lad needs a rest.

I watched the video of Sinfields lecture, and whilst being a good watch for any young player it's also an insight into the man himself.

He obviously realised at a surprisingly young age that he wasn't the biggest, fastest, most talented etc but he could not necessarily control these. He could however, develop the best attitude, which there's no doubt he did.

His worth to the team goes well, well beyond his rugby skills and for me (not a Leeds supporter) that puts him in the top 5 best players in SL.

With regard to union, in his video he is asked what he wants to do after playing and he replies that ultimately something in admin/ management - not coach, and gives him more time with family. He quoted "Director of Rugby" which he said was a position mainly in Union and not yet in league. Maybe even a couple of years ago his thoughts were moving this way.

Good luck to him.

I was talking to an ex-League player, then (might still be) involved as assistant coach to one of the international yawnion teams. I asked him what the average yawnion player (non-international) was on. He said about £140k. That was about 8 years ago.

Not the most talented player to have played Super League but an integral cog in the Leeds machine that was unstoppable in the mid to late 00's. Also came across as a nice guy and showed humility wherever possible.

Regards

King james

I've read this back a few times and I can't even begin to think how someone can come up with that.

Sinfield owes RL absolutely nothing. He has been one of the best ambassadors for the sport we've had, certainly in the modern era.

Unless we're still going down the 'chip-on-shoulder, he's going to the dark side' route. In which case, some people need to seriously grow up.

Sorry that we have opposite views on this one.

Although I agree that Sinfield owes RL nothing and that he has been a marvellous ambassador for Leeds Rhinos and RL for many years.
It's quite sad that there isn't a position within the game that is more attractive than going to a second tier Union club.

Surely it is preferable for the sport to keep their best assets within the sport, in whatever capacity that may be.

Back in the 80's we (league fans) used to love poaching top Union players as there was a certain "kudos" in attracting some of their top players.
Nobody can or should stand in the way of people moving on to better themselves but, this just doesn't look like that type of outcome.

It's commendable that the guy doesn't want to play against Leeds but, if you look at Cunningham at Saints and the pathway that was made for him and
compare this to watching one of the sports "greats" cross codes to a lower level, it's a crying shame and you have to wonder whether this was all in his
plan 5 years ago.
I'll try and "grow up" but, this, to the lay man, looks like a mickey poor option for someone who should have been kept in League to help nurture a generation of
players who could one day scalp the Aussies and not "put out to grass" in a poor side in a different code.

How can anyone be 'kept' in a sport when they want to play in another sport, and in a team that they are a fan of and have for a long time wanted to play in?

By making them an offer that they can not refuse ????

Did you never go to your boss and twist their arm for a pay rise or better terms, rather than look for a new job ??

Although not quite the same, this is a similar situation to Gareth Thomas switching from Union to League and although he was an ok League winger, the
guy just didn't have the same impact in League.
Although Sinfield may well have the skill set to do ok in Union, with the best will in the world, it will take a couple of seasons to get up to speed, by which time
he will be 37, some way past his prime.
It's hard to see what he can achieve, other than the pleasure of trying another sport, which for a top sportsman is not much of a challenge.

Another sport that he's followed for years and always wanted to play, for a team that he supports. Obviously its not all about money with him, which has to be admired.