Rhinos dominate 2026 Super League Dream Team

Leeds Rhinos' impressive Super League campaign in finishing second has been reflected in six players selected in the 2026 Dream Team.

Half-backs Jake Connor and Brodie Croft, full-back Lachie Miller, winger Maika Sivo, centre Ash Handley and back-rower James McDonnell were selected in a line-up picked through a process involving journalists, fans and former players.

Wigan, who are two-thirds of the way to a potential treble and have secured the League Leaders' Shield, are represented by hooker Brad O'Neill and winger Zach Eckersley.

Leigh centre Umyla Hanley and prop Joe Ofahengaue were rewarded for their form with a pick, with the latter selected alongside Wakefield's Caleb Hamlin-Uele up front in the line-up.

Warrington's Ben Currie was named loose forward, while Toulouse's 16-try Mathieu Jussaume is the Olympique's first Dream Team representative, as a second-row selection.

Connor, Hanley and McDonnell all retain their place from the 2025 selection.

Although pipped to the League Leaders' Shield by Wigan at the tail end of the campaign, Leeds were a consistent force in 2026's regular season.

Their attack accrued more than 900 points, helped by the creativity of reigning Man of Steel Connor, who has 43 try assists to his name.

Likewise, Miller laid on 18 assists to go with 3,781 metres and a competition-best 166 tackle busts, and Croft, who contributed 12, as well as a personal 28 tries in all competitions.

Explosive winger Sivo was on course to smash records when he stormed to 31 tries in 20 games before a broken arm halted his progress, and the provider for a good chunk of those was his centre partner Handley, who finished with 14 assists and 10 tries.

McDonnell's industry in the back row helped sway his selection, with 651 tackles, 222 carries, and a useful 12 tries marking his contribution.

England head coach Brian McDermott can be heartened by the number of England-qualified players in the Dream Team, given that the 2026 World Cup is little over a month away.

O'Neill put last season's Grand Final sin-binning and disappointment of defeat behind him in 2026 to show he is of international quality, adding a run threat to his excellent defence [894 tackles this season] and distribution from dummy-half.

His club-mate Eckersley not only offers versatility across the backline, having played centre and full-back at times in 2026, but also scored 36 tries in 31 games in all competitions, running almost 3,000 metres and making 30 clean breaks.

Wakefield's Auckland-born Hamlin-Uele, who qualifies via his grandparents, was an immense force for Trinity up front, surpassing 3,000 metres, crushing out 78 tackle busts and contributing 751 tackles in defence.

Rhinos three-quarter Handley was another included in McDermott's 40-strong pool of talent named earlier this year, as was Hanley at Leigh, who, despite missing a chunk of the campaign through injury, still managed to notch 10 try assists, 65 tackle busts and 12 clean breaks.

Another of those selections, Currie, has been typically consistent for Warrington this year, making 933 tackles and taking 349 hit-ups for 2,333 metres.

Wigan's impressive spine of Jai Field, Bevan French and Harry Smith would have been involved in the conversation for the Dream Team and might still have a say in the Man of Steel for their efforts in steering the Cherry and Whites to silverware.

Centre Adam Keighran was another player to have had a claim for selection, as perhaps could Oli Partington in the pack at loose forward and Junior Nsemba in the second row.

Wakefield hooker Tyson Smoothy has been excellent in his one season in the Super League, prior to his return to the NRL next year, but missed out.

Leigh's Josh Charnley has been a regular scorer, moving ahead of Ryan Hall at the top of the all-time Super League tries leaderboard, while half-back Lachlan Lam was influential throughout the campaign with 19 assists alongside Adam Cook.

Full-back: Lachie Miller [Leeds Rhinos]

Winger: Maika Sivo [Leeds Rhinos]

Centre: Ash Handley [Leeds Rhinos]

Centre: Umyla Hanley [Leigh Leopards]

Winger: Zach Eckersley [Wigan Warriors]

Stand-off: Brodie Croft [Leeds Rhinos]

Scrum-half: Jake Connor [Leeds Rhinos]

Prop: Joe Ofahengaue [Leigh Leopards]

Hooker: Brad O'Neill [Wigan Warriors]

Prop: Caleb Hamlin-Uele [Wakefield Trinity]

Second row: Mathieu Jussaume [Toulouse Olympique]

Second row: James McDonnell [Leeds Rhinos]

Loose forward: Ben Currie [Warrington Wolves]