Leeds Rhinos chief executive Gary Hetherington says that the club’s new link with Featherstone Rovers provides a fantastic opportunity for their young stars to develop their game.
The Rhinos have revealed that they will be giving their young, fringe players the chance to join Fev on dual-registration in 2016, following on from a similar link-up in 2015 with Hunslet Hawks.
The Hawks are now in League 1 though, and this new development allows Leeds’ youngsters the opportunity to still play games in the Championship, something Hetherington sees as a huge positive.
“Our priority with all our players is their personal development, particularly players in squad numbers 21-25,” Hetherington told the Yorkshire Post.
“The likes of Ashton Golding, Ash Handley, Jordan Lilley and Josh Walters are still learning and clearly we want them to be playing at the highest possible level.
“If they are not playing Super League for Leeds Rhinos, the Championship provides an excellent environment for players to continue to develop and, at the same time, they provide excellent service to the club they are playing for.”
However, Hetherington says the club’s link with Hunslet still remains in place.
“Our support for Hunslet continues in the same way it has for the last several years,” he continued.
“The only change is our top 25 players will be dual-registered with Featherstone.
“Featherstone will have a similar arrangement so their players are made available to Hunslet on a dual-registration basis.”
