Ryan Hall retires from rugby league after 20-year playing career

Ryan Hall has announced his retirement from rugby league at 38, BBC Sport reported on 9 October 2026. The Leeds Rhinos winger ends a 20-year playing career that brought him six Grand Final wins with Leeds and left him among Super League’s leading try scorers. His final appearance for the club was a play-off semi-final defeat by Warrington at Headingley.

“I think the time's right that I hang up the boots. I've done it for 20 years and I've loved every minute of it,” Hall said in remarks carried by BBC Sport. He said Leeds were in a good position to bring through younger players, describing that as the natural progression for the club. His retirement closes a playing career that began with the Rhinos and, after spells in Australia and at Hull KR, ended back at Leeds.

Ryan Hall’s Leeds Rhinos honours and Super League record

Leeds’ player profile dates Hall’s senior debut to 6 May 2007 against Bradford Bulls. It lists him as a Grand Final winner in 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2015 and 2017. He also won the Challenge Cup with Leeds in 2014 and 2015. Those honours span much of his first spell at the club, before his move to Australia after the 2018 season.

BBC Sport puts Hall’s career total at 358 tries in 540 appearances. For Super League specifically, it reports 274 tries in 425 appearances, placing him second on the competition’s all-time try-scoring list when it published its retirement report, seven tries behind Leigh winger Josh Charnley. The career and Super League totals cover different sets of matches; both are figures reported by the BBC.

How Hall’s career brought him back to Leeds

After leaving Leeds, Hall joined Sydney Roosters in the NRL. The Leeds player profile records 11 appearances across two seasons in Australia without a try. He then returned to Super League with Hull KR, where the club profile credits him with 62 tries over four seasons. The sources differ on his Hull KR appearance count, so no single total is given here.

Leeds announced in April 2024 that Hall would return for the 2025 season. The move brought him back to the club where he had made his senior debut and won his major domestic honours. In June 2025, Super League reported that Leeds had extended his playing contract through 2026. His retirement announcement follows that additional season, rather than the end of his initial return contract.

The Leeds profile says Hall’s last Rhinos match was the 12–14 play-off semi-final defeat by Warrington at Headingley on 25 September 2026. BBC Sport also identifies that semi-final as his final appearance. The match therefore marked the end of his playing time at Leeds before he publicly confirmed his retirement in October.

Hall’s commercial role and reported testimonial appearance

Hall is expected to remain with Leeds away from the field. When the club announced his return in April 2024, it said he would take a role in its commercial department after retiring as a player. That plan predates the retirement announcement. The published announcement establishes the intended department, but does not set out the detailed terms of the position.

BBC Sport reports that Leeds said Hall would make a cameo appearance in a pre-season match against Hull FC in January as part of a testimonial. The exact match date is not established in the available reports. The proposed appearance is described as a cameo within the testimonial, while Hall’s announcement concerns the end of his playing career.

Leeds head coach Brad Arthur told BBC Sport that Hall had performed at the highest level for club and country and had maintained his presence in the game for 20 years, calling it a remarkable achievement. Hall’s decision leaves the club moving into its next season without a winger whose first senior Leeds appearance came in 2007, while the previously announced commercial role offers a way for his association with the Rhinos to continue.