Hetherington: This is a difficult time for those affected

Eight of this season's squad, including international forwards Steve Thompson and Marco Wentzel, have already signed for other clubs.

Leeds have released Daniel Browne and Juan Gomez from the remainder of their contracts, while Leigh Hinton, Henry Fa'afili, Warren Fury, Alex Black and Jesus Moreno-Rodriguez will not be offered new deals.

Leeds chief executive Gary Hetherington said: "Over the past few seasons we have invested heavily in our squad to compete in the Aviva Premiership, and obviously following relegation there will be a rationalising process in terms of numbers.

"Towards the end of the season, we thought it was correct and proper to focus all our attentions on supporting the coaching staff and squad in their goal of retaining our place in the Premiership.

"Therefore, we did not enter into any contract negotiations until the end of the season.

"Obviously, this is a difficult time for those affected, and, while there has been some frustration from our own supporters at the lack of announcements, we must do things in the correct manner for the sake of all concerned.

"On behalf of everyone at Leeds Carnegie, we would like to thank all those players who are leaving the club in the summer and we wish them well for the future. In particular, Leigh Hinton and Kearnan Myall, who have both played more than 100 games for the club."