NOT only will Leeds Rhinos be without Mikolaj Oledzki following a fractured cheekbone and eye socket, but Brad Arthur will also have to make do without Tom Holroyd for six weeks.
The prop has had an operation on a scaphoid injury suffered in the win over Hull KR two weeks ago, whilst Jack Sinfield is still recovering from the minor ankle injury he aggravated recently in the reserves win at Hull KR.
Oledzki’s place in Arthur’s 21-man squad is taken by academy and reserves halfback George Brown, 18.
The former Dewsbury Celtic player was first picked up by the club’s scholarship programme as an under-14 but opted to play Rugby Union with Yorkshire at the start of 2024.
As the season came to a close, he returned to Leeds and marked his first academy appearance with four tries against Wakefield. Brown has scored 12 tries in 11 appearances across the academy and reserves team so far this season.
Fellow academy product Presley Cassell, 18, is set to make his debut against Salford Red Devils this week having had experience as 18th man in recent weeks.
Cassell played his junior rugby at West Bowling before being scouted for the club’s Scholarship programme ahead of the 2022 season.
He was Scholarship Player of the Year in his first season and 2024 Academy Player of the Year last term. Across the academy and reserves, Cassell has started 14 games and scored eight tries in total, he is the leading try scorer for the reserves with seven tries at that level.