MIKOLAJ OLEDZKI has made 100 Leeds Rhinos appearances – and long-serving kit man Glynn Bell might just be the happiest man at Headingley!
The England prop reached the milestone in Saturday’s Super League match at Hull.
“To me, it seems to have come around pretty quickly, but I don’t think Glynn would agree,” quipped the 23-year-old, who made his debut in 2017.
“I’ve been nagging him for a few weeks, asking how close I’m getting, because I wanted to make sure I got the shirt as a reminder.
“Now it’s happened, I think he’ll be glad not to hear from me for a while!”
Oledzki’s bow came in the 64-28 Challenge Cup fourth-round home win over Doncaster in April 2017, when he was 18.
“I got a try, and thought ‘this is okay’, but Jack Walker, who was also making his debut, scored a hat-trick, so outdid me,” smiled Oledzki, who made his second England appearance in last month’s 18-4 win over the Combined Nations All Stars.
“That cup-tie seems like yesterday really, and it’s a big achievement for me to have reached 100 appearances for this club. Hopefully there’s plenty more to come.”
Anticipation of Oledzki’s century provided a positive as Leeds were hit by bans for three players in the wake of their 42-12 defeat at St Helens, all of which started against Hull.
Forward Zane Tetevano has four more matches out after his high tackle on former Leeds Konrad Hurrell which brought a red card.
Centre Harry Newman will miss two further games after a two-match ban for ‘aggressive’ behaviour towards the officials was increased to three after his appeal was deemed frivolous.
And second row Bodene Thompson will complete his two-game suspension when Leeds face Castleford in Saturday’s third and final Magic Weekend match.
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