85 mins

MATCH PREVIEW | U18s travel to Hull this Friday

Friday night sees Leeds Rhinos return to action in the Under-18s Academy competition as Chev Walker's side head east to take on Hull FC Under-18s at the University of Hull, kick off 7.30pm.

Three games into their 2026 campaign, Leeds find themselves back fighting at the top of the table as they are one of four teams that are unbeaten to open the year. Last time out saw the young Rhinos demolish Bradford Bulls at Odsal with ten tries in a convincing 54-0 result, adding to victories over Castleford Tigers and Leigh Leopards as they continue to make a bright start to the season. In terms of the league table, the Rhinos only sit second in the table based on points difference - Wigan currently leading the pack after keeping their opponents to nil in the last two games.

Despite a number of players moving up to the first team or reserves at the end of last year, Walker's side has been stabilised by a good cohort of players from the Scholarship ranks. Centre Sonny Hetherington continues to lead the try-scoring effort with six in total, plus half back Seth Marchant's goal kicking has come alongside strong performances so far - all alongside improvements from second-year players such as Tom Richardson (who made his Reserves debut last weekend) and Wade White, who has also been influential at half back and full back.

This week's away trip to Hull is followed by a run of three consecutive home games for the Rhinos as Huddersfield, Hull KR and St Helens travel to Leeds across May and June as they look to seal a top six spot before the season split.

Hull look to bounce back to winning ways against the Rhinos after losing this fixture 46-18 at the end of the 2025 season. Francis Cummins' side finished last campaign with five wins in 12 games - a below-par season after the club qualified for the semi-finals in three consecutive seasons between 2022 and 2024.

Victory over Huddersfield last time out gave the club their first win of the year after the side endured a tough start with losses at the hands of Wakefield and Hull KR. Now hosting the Rhinos on Friday night, the black and whites face a tough spell of games in May as two fixtures against unbeaten Leeds and Wigan outfits await during the month.

Last meeting

Leeds Rhinos finished the 2025 regular season as winners as Chev Walker’s side defeated Hull FC 46-18 at the University of Hull thanks to two tries each from Tom Richardson and Harley Thomas

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