It's Grand Final week for Leeds Rhinos Under-18s Academy as Chev Walker's side take on Warrington Wolves Under-18s Academy at The Halliwell Jones Stadium on Saturday to decide which club will be crowned Academy Champions in 2025, kick off 1pm.

2025 has seen Leeds bounce back from disappointing campaigns in 2023 and 2024 to come within 80 minutes of lifting the Academy Championship trophy for the first time since 2022's triumph over St Helens. Walker's side have swept all before them since kicking off with a 24-4 win over Wigan Warriors in March, as they accumulated eight consecutive wins against Castleford, Huddersfield, Salford, Wakefield, St Helens and Bradford twice to sit top of the Academy table.

Their showdown with the unbeaten Wolves in July had been marked as a key fixture between the two Grand Final favourites, but a drop goal from Junior Westwood proved the difference as the Wolves kept their winning run going until the end of the season. Leeds meanwhile bounced back to beat Leigh by over 80 points, before seeing off Hull KR and Hull FC in the final games of their season to finish second (their highest finish since 2022). After being drawn against St Helens in their semi final, a tight contest saw Oscar Brown, Dacx Jones-Buchanan, Marcus Qareqare and Dan Stelfox score crucial tries as Leeds confirmed a rematch with the Wolves in this year's finale.

Off the back of 11 Under-18s featuring in the Reserves Grand Final win over the Wolves last Saturday, George Brown, Harry Smith, Dacx Jones-Buchanan, Harley Thomas, Jacob Hardy, Elliott Fox, Zak Lloyd, Presley Cassell, Joe Butterfield and Noah Whittingham will all be available to go again on Saturday as they look to add the Under-18s trophy to this season's haul. Oscar Brown has been a threat for the Rhinos in the centres with 14 tries this year too (he was a scorer in the fixture against the Wolves), plus full back Wade White and outside back Marcus Qareqare will be players to watch out for in the Rhinos side too.

Warrington's superb season was capped off when they secured a Grand Final place with a 24-10 win over Wigan Warriors and took their unbeaten run to 13 for the season. 

The Wolves have enjoyed their best Academy season in the last decade as they topped the league table with 12 wins. Kicking off with a 40-6 result over the 2024 Academy Grand Finalists St Helens, Warrington went on to defeat Bradford, Leigh, Hull KR, Wakefield, Castleford, Hull and Leigh again before beating Leeds at Victoria Park. Mark Smith's side completed their campaign by seeing off Wigan, Salford and Play Off hopefuls Huddersfield before defeating the Warriors again a fortnight ago to bring the Academy Grand Final to The Halliwell Jones Stadium.

It's the first time a Warrington side has made the final since the Wolves met Leeds in the 2012 Valvoline Under-20s Cup Final and came away with a 36-20 win on home soil. That year they also topped the league table before going on to win the Grand Final crown.

Semi Final Highlights

2025 Form

Rhinos Wins: 11

Wolves Wins: 12

Rhinos' Biggest Win: 84-24 vs Leigh Leopards (9th August)

Wolves' Biggest Win: 72-18 vs Salford Red Devils (30th August)

Rhinos Top Try Scorer: Oscar Brown (14 tries)

Ticket Information

Entry prices are £5 adults and £2 juniors/concessions. Tickets are cash only on the turnstiles and cannot be purchased in advance. 

Unreserved seating and standing is available for this fixture in sections of the North and South Stands. Entry is from North Stand turnstiles 1-3 or South Stand turnstiles 13-15. Fans cannot transfer between stands. 

Gates will open from 12pm. 

The game will also be live streamed on WireTV. 

Supporters must not park on Tesco car park as you will be fined.