Leeds Rhinos prospect Alfie Edgell reveals background to surprise full debut v Hull KR

Nineteen-year-old full-back Alfie Edgell came into the side at short notice for his first Betfred Super League start and only second appearance at senior level. He made one error, but impressed with his positional play, several catches under pressure and a try-saving tackle on Robins prop-forward Jai Whitbread, earning praise from coach Rohan Smith and fans.

The player himself felt it was a good start, but accepts he still has a lot to learn. “I was happy just to get my first 80 minutes under my belt,” Edgell - whose family are Rhinos fans and were at the game - said. “You are going to make errors as a full-back, it’s how you deal with it that matters. I’ll review my performance and hopefully be better for it.”

Leeds spent long spells defending and Hull KR targeted Rhinos’ rookie full-back with their kicking game. Edgell admitted: “As a young full-back, you’ve got to prepare yourself for that. I got my head around it before the game, but I just did the same catches I do in training.”

Edgell found out he was in the starting lineup around an hour before kick-off when Lachie Miller, who was named on the teamsheet, withdrew because of illness. The teenager moved up from 18th man, with those duties being taken by Corey Johnson.

He played in Rhinos’ Boxing Day win over Wakefield Trinity, but a minor hamstring injury kept him out of their two other pre-season games and he revealed a “foot niggle” meant he missed Leeds’ final training session the day before the match at Hull KR.

“My foot just flared up after a training session,” he said. “It got better the day before the game and it’s even better now, so it’s all good. My hamstring’s all good now, that was just a little tear,

“I knew I was definitely playing about an hour before the game, but I had an indication as I got on the bus. It might have helped because I wasn’t thinking about it all day, but at the same time if you’re 18th man you’ve got to prepare yourself as if you’re going to play.”

Leeds came up short, losing 22-12 after leading 6-0. Edgell reflected: “It was pretty tough conditions; it was heavy underfoot and it is always a tough place to go, with the atmosphere there. But we had a dig, we’ll review the game and we’ll bounce back this week. There were a lot of positives, I think you can see what we are trying to do and it will bring us closer together as a group, so we’re looking towards Saturday now.”

Edgell is likely to be in Rhinos’ initial 21-man squad for the visit of Catalans Dragons, but his chances of playing will depend on Miller’s fitness. Having proved his worth, earlier than expected, he reckons he is ready to step in whenever needed.

“I’ll take a lot of confidence from it,” he said. “Just getting that full-80 under my belt, I feel a lot more comfortable around the senior lads and I can build my connections with them now. I hadn’t even started a friendly, I’d always been on the bench. That’s why I was so gutted about missing the Bradford friendly, because that could have been my first start.”