Leeds Rhinos' Tom Holroyd talks family affair v Warrington Wolves, & 'total accident' which led to 2-game ban

Warrington’s 21-man squad includes his cousin, Adam Holroyd, who is building a reputation as one of the European game’s new generation of impressive second-row forwards. The cousins both played their junior rugby for the Siddal community club in Halifax before moving into the professional ranks.

Twenty-year-old Adam, who is the younger by four years, joined Warrington after a spell in Widnes Vikings’ academy and made his Betfred Super League debut against Leeds in August, 2022. Tom Holroyd said: “I speak to him quite a lot.

“He is going really well for them and it is always good to play against him when I get chance. You get excited for those fixtures, even if it’s just to get a photo after the game, but I am just focussed on getting the win. I just tackle who’s in front of me or run at the gap I am meant to and do what’s right for the team.”

Friday will be the Rhinos front-rower’s sixth appearance of the campaign, matching his total number of games in 2024. A concussion in a Challenge Cup loss to St Helens last March kept him sidelined until June and he didn’t play again after suffering a similar issue during his return to the team at Hull FC in June. That was a major setback for a player who had made his England debut the previous year.

“It was a very frustrating year for me, but I think I have bounced back pretty well,” he said. “I just need to pull together some consecutive games and really put my stamp on the team and do my job for the team.”

Though he is out of contract at the end of this season, Holroyd insisted “I am quite relaxed at the moment and just trying to focus on my rugby and getting that right. Whatever comes off the back of that will happen.”

His return to form and fitness is good news for England with an Ashes Test series coming up this year and he had a strong game off the bench in last week’s 12-10 home win over Wigan Warriors, which was his first appearance following a two-match suspension. He was initially facing a ban of at least six matches after being charged by the RFL’s match review panel with grade E dangerous contact during Leeds’ derby against Castleford Tigers, having been accused of twisting one of Tigers forward George Hill’s arms as he tried to free himself from a tackle. However, a disciplinary hearing reduced the grade to D and Holroyd insisted: “I wasn’t trying to twist his arm, it was completely accidental.

“The video looked bad, I can admit that, but when we went to the tribunal I explained what was going on and how it actually happened and they took that into account. I can see why I came out with two games, but I will put that behind me now and crack on with my rugby like I have been doing.”

He added: “It was good to come back into a tough game like [last week] and to perform the way we did, I was proud of the lads. I think the lads were really good against Saints and just didn’t get on the right side of the result.

“We did that [last week] and bounced back from a loss, so we are back on the road. It is a different challenge against Warrington and we’re all focussed on that now - Wigan is done and we move on to the next challenge.

“We have got a good group here and we know what we can do. Moving forward, I just think we’ve got to build on that week on week and have confidence in what we’re capable of.”