Leeds Rhinos rookie 'training house down' as Rohan Smith explains new roles for Gannon, Olpherts and Handley

Edwards will be at centre in a new-look backline when Rhinos face Wakefield Trinity at Headingley on Boxing Day.

He joined Rhinos’ full-time group, along with fellow rookie Morgan Gannon, for the 2021 season and was called into the England Knights squad at the end of that campaign, but has had to wait for his senior debut despite impressing in loan spells with Championship clubs Batley Bulldogs and York City Knights.

The Dewsbury-born prospect, who will celebrate his 19th birthday on Christmas Day, is one of a gaggle of youngsters looking to shine in Leeds’ opening pre-season match.

Morgan Gannon moved into the first team squad alongside Edwards, but made his first team debut in 2021 and featured 23 times last season.

With Blake Austin not involved, he is set to play at stand-off for the first time on Boxing Day.

Another teenager, Max Simpson, returns from injury on a wing, former Castleford Tigers winger Derrell Olpherts makes his first Leeds appearance, at centre and Ash Handley will fill in at full-back.

Gannon’s move into the pivots is the most intriguing experiment and Smith hailed the specialist second-rower as a “very, very talented young player”.

The coach said: “He has got a really wise, mature head on his shoulders for an 18-year-old kid.

“He played in the halves as a young kid coming through and when he grew, as we tend to do as coaches, we move them to the forwards if they get big or to the halves if kids grow past them.

“I see Morgan as having a really diverse, broad range of skills and a lot of rugby league awareness.

“He is a clever kid, on and off the field so we are just giving him an opportunity to show what he has got, to understand a different position and potentially play there should the opportunity or need arise during the season.

“We are going to need a squad to perform well this season. Blake and Aidan [Sezer] will be our starting halves, there’s no doubt about that, but we will need other people to play there, so let’s see.”

Simpson, also 18, has been named at wing for Monday’s game, which will be his first since suffering an ankle injury in a Super League defeat at Toulouse Olympique in July.

Normally a centre, Simpson made four appearances in the top-flight this year and is highly regarded by Rhinos’ backroom staff.

“Max has made a great recovery,” Smith reported. “He has taken everything in his stride and come back bigger and better.”

Meanwhile, Smith confirmed Handley, a specialist winger, had been pencilled in for some game time at full-back in pre-season before Luke Hooley’s injury.

An ankle problem will keep Hooley out of the Boxing Day game, when number one Richie Myler will start alongside Gannon in the halves.

Handley will be at full-back and Smith explained: “Ash has trained there a bunch in the past, but just doesn’t have the opportunity to play.”

Of 30-year-old Olpherts, Smith added: “He grew up playing centre, he played there until he was 24 or so, I believe.

“He found his way into Super League on the wing and did well so they just left him there. It’s something we are exploring, but the best man for the job on a given week is who will get picked. I am not one to lock the team in for the year and that’s it.”