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Agar heaps praise on young gun Newman

Leeds Rhinos head coach Richard Agar has praised the way young centre Harry Newman has begun the 2020 season.

The 20-year-old has played in all three of the Rhinos’ games so far, scoring two tries, making two assists and busting 23 tackles – the current highest in Super League.

He had a breakout year in last season following Kallum Watkins’ departure, after long being touted as a future star of the game.

He was subsequently rewarded with the number three shirt ahead of 2020 and Agar says he’s been one of the club’s standout performers.

Leeds head coach Richard Agar has been impressed with the performances of Harry Newman. Credit: News Images

“Sometimes what you get with young players with inexperience is little dips in form here and there,” said the Leeds boss. “But I think Harry’s started the season really positive.

“His last two games playing at right centre have been nothing short of outstanding, (particularly) the physical side of the game.

“He’s the ultimate competitor. He’s a kid who when you ask, ‘Do they want it’, he really wants it. He really wants to have a career in the game and go as far as he possibly can.

“I think his attitude today (against Salford), the way he carried the ball, he played aggressively. I thought he did a great job for us.”

Newman was one of several young players to feature against the Devils, including versatile centre Alex Sutcliffe, who made his first appearance of the year.

The 21-year-old played much of 2019 on dual-registration with Featherstone, before suffering a broken hand in pre-season but made his return on Saturday afternoon.

“Liam Sutcliffe failed a fitness test on his knee in team run yesterday,” added Agar. “We’ve said all along that we’ve got a big rating on Alex and he managed to sneak on the bench and get a good 12 minutes at the end there.

“It’s good to have him back. He’s only been back in training a week from having a cast off his thumb so it will be another good bit of experience for him.”

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