Rising star Presley Cassell believes his first pre-season with Leeds Rhinos’ first-team will do him ‘a world of good’.
The Rhinos’ pre-season kicked off this week with a majority of Brad Arthur’s side returning to training to begin their preparations for the 2026 Super League season. Leeds have had a busy few days with the signings of Ethan O’Neill and Jeremiah Mata’utia being announced, while Chris Hankinson has also been kept on by the Rhinos.
All three will be doing their first pre-seasons with Leeds and they’ll be joined by Cassell, who made the step up from the academy ranks midway through last season. It’s fair to say the youngster burst onto the scene in Super League, with the loose forward scoring two tries between his debut in July and the end of the season.
Those efforts came against Castleford Tigers and eventual treble winners Hull KR, with his performance in the latter seeing him pick up a heap of plaudits.
Despite his commanding performances, this year’s pre-season campaign will be the teenager’s first as a first-team player. And, while he has a fair idea of what to expect, he hopes to be able to thrust himself into the 2026 campaign on the back of a strong few months alongside his senior teammates.
Presley Cassell on his first Leeds Rhinos pre-season
“I think it will do me a world of good,” Cassell told the Leeds Rhinos YouTube channel. “Not just myself but the other lads that are stepping up as well into the full-time environment.
“I think it will only benefit it us, we know it’s not going to be easy and it’s going to test us. We’ll probably going to come out different people but I think it will do us a world of good.”
On his pre-season goal, he added: “Just putting my best foot forward in each session. It’s going to be a tough pre-season, a tough year so I think just doing the best I possibly can and learning off the older lads around me, just getting as much experience as I can in this environment will only put me in a good position moving forward.”
Cassell made seven appearances for Leeds last season on his way to being named the club’s young player of the season. However, he’s widely expected to play a bigger role this year as he strives to fully establish himself in Super League.
