14 Mar 2024

Academy season kicks off on Thursday night

Thursday night sees the Under-18s Academy season open with the last two winners of the competition, Leeds Rhinos and St Helens, going head to head at Stanningley, kick off 7pm.

Having missed out on a top-four finish in 2023, Tony Smith and his young Rhinos look to get this season started with a good performance against the side that lifted the Academy Grand Final trophy last season. Pre-season has seen the Rhinos integrate 15 players who stepped up from the Scholarship as the club continues to promote its homegrown talent. 13 players featured in the friendly win over Bradford in January, which was Leeds' sole test ahead of the new Academy season.

Like Leeds, St Helens are also renowned in the sport for promoting its academy talent and enter this year having played in the last two Grand Finals. Headed up by Derek Traynor, Saints begin their title retention with a round one clash against the Rhinos before meeting Wigan and Warrington in rounds two and three.

This year's Academy competition will comprise of ten teams, eight from Super League clubs (Castleford, Huddersfield, Hull FC, Hull KR, Leeds, St Helens, Warrington and Wigan) as well as Bradford Bulls and Wakefield Trinity, who have had long-running youth programmes. The season runs alongside the Reserves grade, with each club playing alternate weeks to give players the chance to extend their time on the field across both competitions.

Like in the Reserves, the new restriction on tackle height will apply in the Academy competition, following trials last summer which were found to have significantly reduced the amount of head contact and the number of head accelerations. The new law, which will eventually be applied at all levels of professional Rugby League from 2025 season, changes the legal tackle height limit from shoulder level (i.e. below the neck) to arm pit level (i.e. below the shoulder).

Team News

Academy head coach Tony Smith has named his extended team ahead of the visit of the Saints on Thursday.

As the young Rhinos look forward to getting the season underway, the majority of the players already have experience on the field in 2024. 14 of the team played in the 26-22 friendly win against Bradford, including Harry Taylor, who scored the winning try that day, as well as other try scorers on that day, Jayemm Oladipupo and Marcus Qareqare. Oladipupo and Qareqare are also part of a ten-player cohort that could play their first minutes in the academy competition having stepped up from the club's Scholarship in 2023.

Fergus McCormack has got minutes under his belt in the Reserves competition, as well in a handful of first team friendlies. Mason Corbett and Bobby Hartley were both involved for the Rhinos Reserves last weekend, but are also eligible to play in the Under-18s competition too.

Oliver Smart and Jacob Rushforth have been brought into the Under-18s from external clubs ahead of this season and are in contention for their first appearances under Smith.

The extended team is:

Joe Butterfield - Available to Sponsor
Presley Cassell sponsored by Warners Fish Merchants
Mason Corbett sponsored by UK Tank Services
Alex Cowley sponsored by Morris Infrastructure
Bobby Hartley sponsored by Fab Gas
Dylan Hutchinson - Available to Sponsor
Fergus McCormack sponsored by NIC FM Services
Dax Millington - Available to Sponsor
Jayemm Oladipupo - Available to Sponsor
Joe Phillips - Available to Sponsor
Marcus Qareqare - Available to Sponsor
Jacob Rushforth - Available to Sponsor
Oliver Smart sponsored by Senior Performance Training
Jacob Stead sponsored by Embroidery In House
Tayler Stephenson sponsored by Renaker
Harry Taylor sponsored by Omega Legal Services
Harley Thomas sponsored by Likewise Floors
Noah Whittingham sponsored by Mark Whiley

Last time out

When the two sides met last season at the Totally Wicked Stadium, the Rhinos lost out 42-24 as a hat trick from Owen Dagnall gave Saints the win.

Two tries from Ben Littlewood plus further scores from Fergus McCormack and Harrison Gilmore put the points on the board for the Rhinos, who pushed the home side close in the first half.