Leeds Rhinos add teenage prospect Morgan Gannon to first team squad

The second-rower, whose father Jim played in Super League for clubs including Halifax and Hull KR, will join Rhinos’ elite squad next year.

He was brought in to train with them during school half-term and warmed up ahead of last Friday’s Betfred Super League game at St Helens, along with another 16-year-old forward Levi Edwards.

“Morgan and Levi are two kids we have very high opinions of,” Rhinos coach Richard Agar said. “Morgan is as good a kid as I have seen for a long time; he has every attribute, physically, performance-wise and character-wise, you could ever want in a young kid.

“It is about getting them to train with us and giving them some really good experience of being around Super League and the preparation involved and understanding what it takes to be a first grade player.”

Agar added: “I asked Morgan [last Friday] if he enjoyed it and he said he was absolutely buzzing. This is a kid who was playing with Siddal under-16s earlier this year and he got to warm up before a game against the team top of the competition with all those superstars.

“It was a great experience and these are two kids who, along with a number of others we’ve got coming through our system, are the key to making this club strong again for a long period of time. We have to grow our own and hopefully we’ve started to do that.”

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