Leeds Rhinos v Wakefield Trinity: Corey Hall set for debut against former club

Hall joined Wakefield Trinity from Rhinos last month and will make his first appearance for them against his previous club in the all-ticket Wetherby Whaler Festive Challenge.

The 19-year-old, who played four first team games during two seasons with Leeds, had a previous stint in Trinity’s system and Wakefield coach Willie Poching is keen to see him in action after an impressive start to his time at Belle Vue.

“He will get a run, so it is an early return for him back to Headingley,” Poching confirmed.

“He has been great, he is a really good kid. He came through his scholarship years here before he moved to Wigan so he has got a lot of friends who are still in the group.

“He is back in seamlessly, in the few weeks he has been with us he has really put his hand up and taken his opportunity.”

Bill Tupou and Reese Lyne are Trinity’s first-choice centres, but Poching sees Hall - a former England academy player - as one for the future.

He insisted: “It has been good for Corey to run against an England centre of the calibre of Reece.

“He has learned a lot from that.”

Hooker Liam Hood, who played for Leeds at the start of his career, is also set to make his first Trinity appearance, alongside fellow recruit Lee Gaskell, the half-back signed from Huddersfield Giants.

“We will look to give those two a run, but we’ve probably got enough cover to not play Tom Lineham,” Poching said.

“He finished the season a bit later with Warrington.”

With seven weeks until Wakefield’s opening Betfred Super League fixture, Poching has pledged to give some rookies an opportunity this weekend.

He said: “We are trying to expose some young kids to experiences like playing in front of a big crowd at Headingley.

“As long and tough as our season is, there may be times we need to call them into our group and our squad to play.

“Hopefully the experience they get on Boxing Day helps them further down the line.”