Widdop on Leeds' radar

​Super League giants Leeds are making a play for St George Illawarra star Gareth Widdop as a replacement for rugby-bound veteran Kevin Sinfield.

Widdop is contracted to the Dragons until the end of 2017 but there has been speculation the England international wants out of the club. Widdop, poised to play his 100th NRL game against Canterbury on Sunday, is arguably the most valuable player at the Red V. The 26-year-old has taken his game to the next level since switching from Melbourne and his form has been a big reason behind the Dragons' three-game winning streak.

Widdop moved to Australia at the age of 15 but Leeds are hoping he and his young family are open to a move back to England. Widdop, who was recently in England as part of the Dragons' team for the World Club Series, is originally from Halifax, about 20 kilometres from the home of the Rhinos.

It is understood Leeds boss Gary Hetherington, who was in Australia recently to visit his daughter, has made contact with Widdop about the prospect of returning home. Given the strength of the pound, the Super League outfit would be able to table an offer that would dwarf the money he is currently on at the Dragons.

Hetherington said the Rhinos were often linked to star players and that it was the club's policy not to discuss contractual matters.

"We certainly don't talk about what we may or may not be doing," Hetherington said. "We only announce it when it's done."

Leeds will have cash to splash after Sinfield announced he will leave to join sister club Yorkshire Carnegie for an 18-month stint before retiring. The 34-year-old veteran is the only player to be involved in every Super League season since the competition's inception in 1996.

Salary cap pressures have forced St George Illawarra to reluctantly release a host of quality players, including Brett Morris, Jack Bird and Trent Merrin, the latter set to join Penrith at the end of the season. They can ill-afford to lose Widdop, who has struck up a good combination with halves partner Benji Marshall in recent weeks.

"The good thing about Gareth is he's finding a bit of confidence and really building and I thought on the weekend he created a lot of opportunities for Duges [Josh Dugan] out the back and created some good numbers there," Marshall said.

"We're just building slowly and it's still a work in progress. For us we just try to get an even share of possession every game and sometimes that doesn't happen.

"But the good thing is we've got attack on both sides of the field so if the team numbers up on my side, Gareth can take over and if they number up on him I'll take over. We're starting to play to each other a bit more, not just stuck to one side, which is good, which is nice."

The Dragons have the worst-performing attack in the NRL, scoring just 55 points. However, that has been offset by the best defence in the league, allowing just 58 points in the opening five rounds. Their opponents on Sunday, Canterbury, are missing five from the top squad due to injuries and suspensions, but coach Paul McGregor isn't taking them lightly.

"They'll come up with the right attitude, that's one thing that they always have," McGregor said.

"When you say they've got a few troops down, they still have five internationals and three Origin players amongst them, so I don't buy into that too much. It's just the jumper we've got to play against and whoever plays for them will play well for the Dogs. It's about us controlling what we can control and that's our attitude and how we approach the game."

SMH