Fleary earns reprieve at Leeds

Darren Fleary, the former Great Britain prop apparently discarded by Leeds last season, has been given a reprieve after being named in their squad for 2003.

Fleary has not played for eight months because of a knee injury and was told by the Rhinos that they were cancelling his contract.

However, further medical opinion has proved more optimistic, prompting the Leeds coach Daryl Powell to include him in his plans for the coming Super League campaign. "Daryl has always been a big admirer of Darren and he sees him as a further boost for next season," the club's chief executive, Gary Hetherington, said.

Fleary is one of eight players added to the squad to bring it up to full strength, with the versatile back Richard Mathers, who prospered after a loan spell at Warrington, earning a squad number for the first time. The youthful combination of Danny McGuire and Rob Burrow have been given the half-backs' jerseys, indicating that Powell is at least considering starting games with those two prodigious talents in tandem.

The Rugby League has acted to ensure that Halifax's teenaged second-row forward, Andrew Brocklehurst, will not miss the World Sevens in Sydney next month through suspension. Brocklehurst was named this week in Great Britain's squad for the tournament, but could have been ruled out by an uncompleted four-match ban.

However, the League has decided that Brocklehurst would have been selected for the England A tour of the South Pacific in November if not suspended and those matches should count against the ban, freeing him to play in Sydney.

Another member of the Sevens squad, Castleford's Danny Orr, will fly out for the tournament the day after getting married to his girlfriend, Rachel.