# 1997 Leeds Rhinos season

The 1997 Leeds Rhinos season was the 102nd season in the club's rugby league history and the second season in the Super League. Coached by Dean Bell, the Rhinos competed in Super League II and finished in 5th place. The club also competed in the 1997 Challenge Cup, but were knocked out in the semi-finals by Bradford Bulls.

## Table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Relegation |
| 1 | Bradford Bulls (C) | 22 | 20 | 0 | 2 | 769 | 397 | +372 | 40 | |
| 2 | London Broncos | 22 | 15 | 3 | 4 | 616 | 418 | +198 | 33 | |
| 3 | St Helens | 22 | 14 | 1 | 7 | 592 | 506 | +86 | 29 | |
| 4 | Wigan | 22 | 14 | 0 | 8 | 683 | 398 | +285 | 28 | |
| 5 | Leeds Rhinos | 22 | 13 | 1 | 8 | 544 | 463 | +81 | 27 | |
| 6 | Salford Reds | 22 | 11 | 0 | 11 | 428 | 495 | −67 | 22 | |
| 7 | Halifax Blue Sox | 22 | 8 | 2 | 12 | 524 | 549 | −25 | 18 | |
| 8 | Sheffield Eagles | 22 | 9 | 0 | 13 | 415 | 574 | −159 | 18 | |
| 9 | Warrington Wolves | 22 | 8 | 0 | 14 | 437 | 647 | −210 | 16 | |
| 10 | Castleford Tigers | 22 | 5 | 2 | 15 | 334 | 515 | −181 | 12 | |
| 11 | Paris Saint-Germain | 22 | 6 | 0 | 16 | 362 | 572 | −210 | 12 | |
| 12 | Oldham Bears (R) | 22 | 4 | 1 | 17 | 461 | 631 | −170 | 9 | Relegated to Division One |

## Squad

| No | Player | Apps | Tries | Goals | DGs | Points | Ref |
| 1 | Marcus St Hilaire | 11 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 12 | |
| 2 | Paul Sterling | 30 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 80 | |
| 3 | Richie Blackmore | 23 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 40 | |
| 4 | Francis Cummins | 26 | 14 | 10 | 0 | 76 | |
| 5 | Damian Gibson | 28 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 24 | |
| 6 | Tony Kemp | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | |
| 7 | Ryan Sheridan | 23 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 12 | |
| 8 | Martin Masella | 29 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 12 | |
| 9 | Wayne Collins | 29 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 20 | Archived 2014-07-14 at the Wayback Machine |
| 10 | Barrie McDermott | 18 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 36 | |
| 11 | Adrian Morley | 27 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 20 | |
| 12 | Anthony Farrell | 32 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 36 | |
| 13 | Iestyn Harris | 25 | 7 | 77 | 1 | 183 | |
| 14 | Graham Holroyd | 32 | 6 | 37 | 3 | 101 | |
| 15 | Phil Hassan | 31 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 44 | |
| 16 | Jamie Field | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 18 | Marvin Golden | 9 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 12 | |
| 19 | Dean Lawford | 10 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 8 | |
| 20 | Jamie Mathiou | 26 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 21 | Terry Newton | 26 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 | Archived 2014-07-15 at the Wayback Machine |
| 22 | Leroy Rivett | 13 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 24 | |
| 23 | Adam Hughes | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 12 | |
| 24 | Gary Mercer | 26 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 24 | |
| 25 | Gavin Brown | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 26 | Kris Smith | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 31 | Andy Hay | 18 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 12 | |
| 32 | Kevin Sinfield | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |

## Transfers
### In

| Player | Pos | From | Fee | Date |
| Phil Cantillon | Hooker | Keighley Cougars | £25,000 | July 1997 |
| Daryl Powell | Stand-off | Keighley Cougars | £25,000 | July 1997 |
| Robert Roberts | Loose forward | Keighley Cougars | £25,000 | July 1997 |
| Adrian Flynn | Centre | Keighley Cougars | £25,000 | July 1997 |
| Simon Irving | Centre | Keighley Cougars | £25,000 | July 1997 |
| David Larder | Second-row | Keighley Cougars | £25,000 | July 1997 |
| Darren Fleary | Prop | Keighley Cougars | £25,000 | July 1997 |

### Out

| Player | Pos | To | Fee | Date | Ref |
| Nick Fozzard | Prop | Huddersfield Giants | £80,000 | May 1997 | |
| Jim Leatham | Second-row | Hull Sharks | | May 1997 | |