Match Report | Leeds Rhinos U18s 26 Castleford Tigers U18s 16

By Joshua Mee

Thomas Richardson scored twice as Leeds Rhinos Academy denied Castleford Tigers Academy a comeback in a frenetic 26-16 win under the lights of the Arthur Miller Stadium.  

The home side got off to a near perfect start as they scored with just their second attack of the match. Rhinos won a penalty deep inside Tigers territory after four minutes and Dax Jones-Buchanan opened the scoring by crashing through the Castleford defence on the left side of the posts. He picked the ball up close to the try-line and got the ball down before Jacob Tooala then converted to make the score 6-0.

On the half hour mark, Rhinos got their second. It was Sonny Heatherington who got the points from close range, receiving a crisp pass out on the left wing and making no mistake when going over, bringing the score to 10-0.

The score moved to 16-0 just before half-time thanks to Liam Watson and an excellent solo try. He received the ball out towards the left wing and decided to reverse the direction of attack by stepping onto his right. This wrongfooted the Castleford defence and allowed Watson to power through two attempted tackles before the momentum of the third tackle got him over the line for his score.

However, there was enough time in the first half left for Castleford to begin to make a comeback.  From kick-off, the ball carried all the way to the Leeds Rhinos end zone and was scooped back into play. Josh Hawkins was on hand to pick up the free ball, and he was able to score a simple try on the Tigers left wing. Sonny Wall then converted to make the score 16-6 at half time.

Castleford then got another try after 61 minutes after they regained territory deep in the Rhinos half following an excellent clearing kick that found touch. The ball was recycled out to the left wing and Hawkins was in space to get his second try of the match and bring the score to 16-10.

From the kick-off, Castleford immediately looked for space on the left wing, but this time Thomas Richardson did excellently to read the pass and intercept the play just inside the Tigers half. He raced away and scored a much needed try that gave the home side some breathing space and brought the score to 20-10.

Five minutes later and Josh Hawkins claimed a high ball on the Rhinos try-line, dropping down and claiming a brilliant hattrick, keeping the stubborn visitors right in the match. The conversion was made and the ten-point gap had been reduced to just four nearly instantly.

Castleford then looked to complete their comeback, but Richardson scored a near identical try to his first, however this time he was on his own goal-line. He intercepted a pass destined for the left wing and for the second time in the match raced away. He skipped past a last-ditch tackle and bent his run towards the goalposts, giving Seth Marchant a favourable kick and all but won the game for the hosts as the scoreline moved to 26-16.

Unfortunately, the match was forced to be ended prematurely as Leeds Rhinos’ centre Max Rhodes suffered an injury and was forced to be stretchered off the field. The referee decided that that was to be the last action of the game and brought the game to a close.

Despite the injury, it was a great win for the Under-18s, who have picked up their second win in as many matches to start the 2026 season in excellent fashion.

Leeds Rhinos Academy 26(16)

Try: Buchanan 4’, Heatherington 30’, Watson 37’, Richardson 64’ 76’ Conversion: Tooala 4’ 37’, Marchant 78’

Castleford Tigers Academy 16(6)

Try: Hawkins 40’ 61’ 70’ Conversion: Wall 40’ 70’

Sin Bin: Hawkins 48’

Leeds Rhinos

1 Liam Watson
2 Thomas Richardson
3 Max Rhodes
4 Jacob Tooala
5 Sonny Heatherington
6 Wade White
7 Kai Irvine
8 Robin Smith
9 Harvey Butterworth-Robinson
10 Dax Jones-Buchanan
11 Cobi Ellis
12 Jacob Hardy
13 Brennan Townend
14 Seth Marchant
15 William Wilkinson
16 Hughie Tinkler
17 Ryan Hoiser
18 Jack Mears

Castleford Tigers

1 Noah Lazenby
2 Josh Hawkins
3 Sean Coughlan
4 Lewis Parvier
5 Jack Palister
6 Taylor Sharpe
7 Sonny Wall
8 Jay Dawson
9 Zach McGowen
10 Max Grinhaff
11 Harrison Simpson
12 Saul Campbell
13 Louie Adamson

14 Leo Ogilvie
15 Will Gardner
16 Noah Whittingham
17 Jack Egley
18 Noah Handley