The surname Hall is well-known at Leeds Rhinos, but teenage centre Corey Hall is hoping to carve his own path at Headingley in the years to come.
Hall made his Super League debut in September last year against the Catalans, a mere month after turning 18.
The young centre is one of the bright prospects coming through at Leeds and has represented England at Academy level.
After making two Super League appearances in 2020, the Sheffield native is keen for more and he is hoping Leeds coach Richard Agar will oblige.
“That debut gave me that extra oomph to strive forward and get as many games as possible,” says Hall.
“My goal for this year is to try and get as many games as possible. Richard wants me to keep working on my foundations, on my point of difference and keep building on that as a centre.
“Pre-season’s going good, we’re in the full swing of things. Covid can’t really affect us as much, it’s just the injuries with numbers at training. But apart from that we’re doing really well and I’m finding it really enjoyable.”
Ryan Hall was a legend at the Rhinos for over a decade, scoring more than 200 tries and winning Grand Finals, Challenge Cups, World Club Challenges and League Leader’s titles.
But newcomer Corey is more centre than winger, having graduated from the halves to the centres as he’s grown older.
“Centre’s the position I’ve played for the past two years,” he explains.
“At amateur level I used to play halfback because I could pass both ways. Now coming to the higher leagues I got placed at centre as I’ve gone forward and that’s my preferred position now.
“Growing up I looked up to players like Kallum Watkins and Joel Moon, when he was here. Kallum has been a tremendous player and a club legend.”
Now Hall is receiving his Rugby League education at Headingley playing and training with the likes of Konrad Hurrell and Harry Newman.
“We’ve got the best bits of both of them,” he says.
“Learning from Koni and from Newman, as well as the likes of Richard Myler, Rob Lui and Luke Gale – they’ve all helped me. Just asking the halfbacks what they want from a centre helps me become a better centre and a better team player.”
After going through a rebuilding phase, Leeds bounced back to win the Challenge Cup in 2020 while also reaching the Super League play-offs.
And Hall believes the Rhinos can do even better this season.
“Our target is just to be ruthless, winning anything and everything that’s possible to win,” he says.
“Whether that’s winning individual games, the Super League trophy or the Challenge Cup.”
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