Not a lot is going right for the Leeds Rhinos first team, but there is a great deal of optimism around the youngsters at Headingley.
Yesterday was a prime example of it. The first team threw away a 10-point lead with two minutes to go to drop a point to Huddersfield at Headingley whilst the under 18s did the opposite battling back from 18-0 down to win 23-22 against Wigan.
Compounding this point, an 18-year-old scored what appeared to be the decisive try in the game for Leeds when Morgan Gannon crashed over yet his heroics were undone by Huddersfield’s late flurry.
That no doubt broke hearts on the South Stand whilst it left the players feeling “like they’d lost a final” according to interim boss Jamie Jones-Buchanan however he remained optimistic in his post match press conference and even took time out to praise the youngsters who defeated Wigan’s under 18s in the curtain raiser beforehand singling out one young man in particular: “I’m so proud of them tonight.
“I’ll make a fuss of Jack because I believe he’s had a big influence on the end of that academy game and that’s what we need and what Rhinos players do. Our youth are really important.”
Sinfield did have a huge influence on the game. His break gave Leeds the position to nail a drop goal and one tackle later he was the man to do it nudging Leeds ahead for the first time. He then came up with a try saving tackle at the other end to wrap up the win.
What a picture pic.twitter.com/XOFdAiHY7V
— andy saunders (@andysaunders6) April 14, 2022
That impressive performance, coupled with the current injuries to Aidan Sezer and Richie Myler who were joined by Jack Walker in the treatment room last night, has people calling for young Sinfield to be called up to the first team.
On this, Buchanan said: “I’d love for Jack to be an option. You’re always thinking about his dad because he’s in his image because he’s the double of him in everything that he does. I’ve admired Kev for years and I look Jack and think wow. When Jack does something that Kev doesn’t do like forget his diary I’m like ‘Jack don’t forget your diary’ but at the same time I’m like ‘he’s not Kev.’ He’s got to be Jack Sinfield, he’s got to be somebody different.
“As much as we love Kev, he’s got to be his own man and he’s come up with some special moments today and I’m really pleased for him.
“He’s working really hard, physically he’s a young man and he’s going to be a gem and we don’t want to break him. We’ve got to be careful with Jack.”
