# 1996 Leeds RLFC season

The 1996 Leeds RLFC season was the club's the first season in the newly formed Super League. Coached by Dean Bell, the club competed in Super League I and finished in 10th place. The club also competed in the 1996 Challenge Cup, and were knocked out in the semi-finals by Bradford Bulls. At the end of the season, the club changed its name to Leeds Rhinos.

## Table

Super League I :
| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | St Helens (C) | 22 | 20 | 0 | 2 | 950 | 455 | +495 | 40 | Qualified for Premiership semi final |
| 2 | Wigan | 22 | 19 | 1 | 2 | 902 | 326 | +576 | 39 | Qualified for Premiership semi final |
| 3 | Bradford Bulls | 22 | 17 | 0 | 5 | 767 | 409 | +358 | 34 | Qualified for Premiership semi final |
| 4 | London Broncos | 22 | 12 | 1 | 9 | 611 | 462 | +149 | 25 | Qualified for Premiership semi final |
| 5 | Warrington Wolves | 22 | 12 | 0 | 10 | 569 | 565 | +4 | 24 | |
| 6 | Halifax Blue Sox | 22 | 10 | 1 | 11 | 667 | 576 | +91 | 21 | |
| 7 | Sheffield Eagles | 22 | 10 | 0 | 12 | 599 | 730 | −131 | 20 | |
| 8 | Oldham Bears | 22 | 9 | 1 | 12 | 473 | 681 | −208 | 19 | |
| 9 | Castleford Tigers | 22 | 9 | 0 | 13 | 548 | 599 | −51 | 18 | |
| 10 | Leeds | 22 | 6 | 0 | 16 | 555 | 745 | −190 | 12 | |
| 11 | Paris Saint-Germain | 22 | 3 | 1 | 18 | 398 | 795 | −397 | 7 | |
| 12 | Workington Town (R) | 22 | 2 | 1 | 19 | 325 | 1021 | −696 | 5 | Relegated to Division One |

## Squad

Statistics include appearances and points in the Super League and Challenge Cup.
| Player | Apps | Tries | Goals | DGs | Points |
| Dean Bell | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Gavin Brown | 5 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 8 |
| Dean Clark | 13 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| Francis Cummins | 16 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 44 |
| Esene Faimalo | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jim Fallon | 14 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 24 |
| Jamie Field | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mike Forshaw | 18 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 20 |
| Nick Fozzard | 18 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| Anthony Gibbons | 16 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 13 |
| David Gibbons | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| Paul Gleadhill | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Marvin Golden | 15 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 20 |
| Carl Hall | 12 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 24 |
| Paddy Handley | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| Neil Harmon | 14 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Phil Hassan | 25 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 16 |
| Graham Holroyd | 25 | 13 | 86 | 4 | 228 |
| Harvey Howard | 12 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Adam Hughes | 5 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 16 |
| David Hulme | 9 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| Craig Innes | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Kevin Iro | 18 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 40 |
| Tony Kemp | 9 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| Lee Maher | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| George Mann | 19 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 16 |
| Barrie McDermott | 23 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| Gary Mercer | 19 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 28 |
| Adrian Morley | 21 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 20 |
| Terry Newton | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nathan Picchi | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Leroy Rivett | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Garry Schofield | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Matt Schultz | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mick Shaw | 18 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 28 |
| Marcus St Hilaire | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Alan Tait | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| Sateki Tuipulotu | 9 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 8 |
| Marcus Vassilakopoulos | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

## Transfers
### In

| Player | From | Date |
| Nathan Picchi | Hawke's Bay | April 1996 |
| Dean Clark | Counties Manukau Heroes | May 1996 |
| Sateki Tuipulotu | | May 1996 |
| David Hulme | Widnes Vikings | June 1996 |
| Marcus St Hilaire | Huddersfield Giants | July 1996 |
| Anthony Farrell | Sheffield Eagles | December 1996 |
| Dean Lawford | Sheffield Eagles | December 1996 |
| Ryan Sheridan | Sheffield Eagles | December 1996 |
| Paul Sterling | Hull F.C. | December 1996 |

### Out

| Player | To | Fee | Date |
| Craig Innes | Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles | | February 1996 |
| James Lowes | Bradford Bulls | | February 1996 |
| Garry Schofield | Huddersfield Giants | £135,000 | February 1996 |
| Neil Harmon | Huddersfield Giants | | December 1996 |
| Matt Schultz | Hull F.C. | | December 1996 |