The choice to name Ian Blease the club’s new sporting director has the “full support” of LEEDS RHINOS head coach Rohan Smith.
This week, a lot has been spoken about Blease’s new position at Headingley after he spent a long time playing for Salford Red Devils, a rival Super League team.
Regarding the appointment, there had been conjecture that Paul Rowley, the manager of Salford, may eventually follow Bleaase to Headingley.
However, Smith is excited to collaborate with Blease upon the latter’s official start of work on Monday.
Smith declared, “I completely approve of the appointment.”
“During my tenure as a coach, I had the privilege of coaching some of the teams that Ian was a part of.
“When I was at Bradford, I also spent some time with him as a player agent. Although I don’t know much about him, there seems to be respect between them.
“We want to get things going as soon as he kicks off on Monday.”
After 20 years of service to Salford, where he represented the Red Devils both on and off the pitch, Blease’s departure came to an end.
Blease, who is from Salford, signed on as a player with Folly Lane ARL, a local team. Over the course of a 12-year career, he made 272 appearances, serving as club captain for three of those seasons.
In addition, Ian was a member of the squad that was promoted to the newly established Super League in 1996 and won two Second Division championships (1990–1991, 1995–1996).
In 1991, the back-row forward made it to two Lancashire Cup finals and scored a noteworthy try against Widnes. In 2016, Blease made a comeback to the team in the role of Director of Rugby.
The Red Devils have advanced to the Challenge Cup Final in 2020 and the Betfred Super League Grand Final in 2019 during his tenure.
