Forward Jake Higgins made his Under-18s academy debut in 2022, after joining from Castleford Panthers. The prop played all of his junior rugby at Cas Panthers, having started at the age of 14. In his first game, he remembers getting thrown straight over the touch line but was persuaded by his friends at school to keep played. He notably played in the 2019 Continuation Cup as an Under-15 but scored a try in a 30-14 defeat to East Hull in the first round. In his first season at Leeds, Higgins appeared in all 13 Academy games including the Grand Final win over St Helens. He extended his game time further with the club's Reserves team, for which he made three substitute games against Wigan, Warrington and Newcastle. An interesting fact about Higgins is that he is the first in his family to play rugby league.