Leeds Rhinos rookie tipped for big future ahead of St Helens Challenge Cup tie

Rhinos were well below-par, particularly with ball in hand, during last week’s 11-0 defeat at Catalans Dragons, but rookie winger Riley Lumb was an exception. The 20-year-old is ever-present so far this term, scoring four tries in five games, after getting an unexpected call-up when star signing Maika Sivo suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury late in pre-season.

Lumb had only four senior appearances to his name before the current campaign, but teammate Jarrod O’Connor insisted: “Riley has shown this year he is ready for Super League.” O’Connor said: “Even last year, he showed how good he is, with his finishing and his carries. I don’t think people realise how strong he is - I am really happy for him and hope he keeps on going the way he is.”

Though only three years older, O’Connor is an established Super League veteran, having made his debut in 2020 and reached 100 Leeds appearances last week. Friday’s Betfred Challenge Cup tie at St Helens is the start of his reload to a second century and he reflected: “For any club, 100 games is a great achievement, but especially for a club as big as Leeds. When I was younger I never thought I’d be doing it for Leeds, but I am really happy to have done it here.”

Rhinos will need to be much better than they were last week to keep alive their Wembley hopes, but O’Connor stressed: “It’s a different competition and we’ve spoken about treating it like that. You only need to win a few games to get to Wembley, which isn’t like any other competition. We’ll be ready to go at Saints and hopefully we can have a good comeback.”