After the men's sides went head to head in the Betfred Super League on Thursday night, Leeds Rhinos and Castleford Tigers Under-18s sides meet on Saturday afternoon in the second game of the Academy season at AMT Headingley, kick off 1pm.

The match had been scheduled to be played at the Jungle, but a waterlogged pitch after the first team game sees the young Rhinos play their first game of the season at AMT Headingley.

Tony Smith's Rhinos side battled hard in a tough test against St Helens in their opening game of the year, particularly as 11 players made their first competitive appearance for the Under-18s. Dax Millington led the scoring with two tries on the wing, plus Joe Phillips also got off the mark for the year. 

In this fixture last year, the Rhinos ran riot at AMT Headingley as they scored ten tries passed the Tigers. Declan White, Tayler Stephenson and Harry Taylor were among the try scorers on that day, and the trio could be in contention to feature on Saturday at the Jungle.

The Tigers kicked their campaign dramatically as they faced Wigan Warriors at Robin Park. Trailing 20-4 at the break, Castleford mastered a second-half turnaround that saw Alfie Lindsey score his hat trick try with minutes left to take away a 30-25 win. This weekend sees them host their first home clash of the season, before they travel to neighbours Wakefield on 14th April and then welcome Bradford Bulls to Wheldon Road on 27th April.

Team News

Head coach Smith has named his extended squad for the meeting with the Tigers, including five players that could make their first Academy appearances. Joe Diskin and Harry Smith both played in the pre-season win over Bradford Bulls Academy, but missed the defeat to St Helens; Diskin through a suspension. 

Both are back for the visit of Castleford and are in contention alongside fellow first year Academy players Callum Webster, Dylan Hutchinson and Lore Jones-Buchanan.

Jacob Rushforth, Harry Taylor and Tayler Stephenson all drop out from the round one team, whilst Joe Phillips and Dax Millington, who were try scorers against Saints, keep their spots for Saturday's game.

The extended squad is:

Joe Butterfield
Presley Cassell sponsored by Warners Fish Merchants
Mason Corbett sponsored by UK Tank Services
Joe Diskin sponsored by Grove Building Solutions
Bobby Hartley sponsored by Fab Gas
Dylan Hutchinson
Lore Jones-Buchanan sponsored by UK Cleaning And Facility Services Ltd
Fergus McCormack sponsored by NIC FM Services
Dax Millington
Jayemm Oladipupo
Joe Phillips
Marcus Qareqare
Oliver Smart sponsored by Senior Performance Training
Harry Smith sponsored by Francis Walker
Jacob Stead sponsored by Embroidery In House
Harley Thomas sponsored by Likewise Floors
Callum Webster
Declan White sponsored by A9APA
Noah Whittingham sponsored by Mark Whiley

To sponsor a Reserves, Academy, Women's Academy or Scholarship player, email sales@therhinos.co.uk.

Last time out

A bruising outing against St Helens saw the young Rhinos lose out 32-22 in their first game of the season. Take a look at the tries and big moments here:

Round Two Fixtures

Take a look at the other fixtures around the Academy league this week:

Bradford Bulls vs Warrington Wolves - Thursday 28th March, KO 7pm

Wakefield Trinity vs Huddersfield Giants - Friday 29th March, KO 1pm

Hull KR vs Hull FC - Friday 29th March, KO 3pm

Castleford Tigers vs Leeds Rhinos, Saturday 30th March, KO 1pm

St Helens vs Wigan Warriors, Saturday 30th March, KO 2.30pm