Leeds Rhinos confirm Grand Final winner as new academy and reserves coach

Walker previously guided Rhinos to an academy Grand Final victory in 2022 and replaces Tony Smith, who has left the club, as boss of the under-18s and reserves. He spent the past two seasons as an assistant-coach and was placed in caretaker control for a spell after Rohan Smith’s departure last summer.

The 42-year-old was a member of Rhinos’ first Super League-winning side 21 years ago and was a World Club champion the following season. He also played for Hull KR, Bradford Bulls, England and Great Britain, as well as Bath in rugby union. He is a former Yorkshire academy coach.

His transition coach role will oversee young players’ pathway from the youth system to first team, whose Betfred Super League season begins at home to Wakefield Trinity tomorrow (Saturdsay). “I get to support the fringe players within the first team, but also work all the way down through the under-18s into the scholarship level,” Walker said.

“Within the role, it’s really important to take a lot of workload off the Super League coaches, but also give those lads who are not quite in the first team the opportunity to learn and build the standards from the bottom upwards. The coaches in the first team can just focus on the first team and the fringe players get what they need as well.”

Walker held a similar role at Bulls, where he served as assistant-coach across all three grades. He added: “I’ve done a version of it before at Bradford and I definitely saw the benefit in that.

“There’s a bridge, and you just build the layers. Hopefully, we’re ahead of the rest of the pack, and we can get these lads closer to being Super League players quicker than the rest of the competition.

“I probably coach from the experiences I got and I always want to give players the opportunity to get the most out of their careers. That period of their lives is really important. Dean Bell [former Leeds coach and youth boss] set some standards for us all and it stuck with me throughout my career.

“Even now, I still think about some of the lessons he taught us. It’s not just about rugby, it’s about life skills and giving these young players a good start to their careers. I’m trying to get them prepared the best they can so that the first team can focus on playing the game on the weekend.”

Some of Rhinos’ under-18s were given game time in pre-season matches against Wakefield Trinity and Wigan Warriors. Walker insisted: “The kids in the academy have been working really hard and there’s a real good feeling around the place at the minute.

“We’re going in the right direction. We’re not getting carried away, but the standards from the top to the bottom have really gone up a level.”