Find out more about our 2024 Academy Signings

5 Aug 2023

Leeds Rhinos have revealed that a record intake of fifteen players will move into the club’s Academy in 2024.

Find out more about the new cohort, with an insight from their Under-16s head coach Mark Butterill.

Position: Prop

Community Club: Lock Lane

School: Tadcaster Grammar School

First Scholarship Appearance: Vs St Helens (A) 23rd February 2022

Joe Butterfield started playing his junior rugby for York Acorn before moving to Castleford Lock Lane, where he has won the Castleford and District Cup at Under-12s level, BARLA Yorkshire Cup and division one title, alongside a number of his Scholarship team mates. He has also previously played Rugby Union for Wetherby and North Dorset.

He joined the Rhinos Scholarship at the start of 2022 but after playing two games, he was ruled out for twelve months with a broken tibia-fibula suffered while playing on a tour in France with Lock Lane.

After a long period on the sidelines, he made his Rhinos return in 2023 in a 64-0 away win over Bradford, and went on to appear four more times before the end of the season.

Position: Loose Forward

Community Club: West Bowling, Siddal

School: Trinity Academy

First Scholarship Appearance: Vs St Helens (A) 23rd February 2022

Highly regarded forward Presley Cassell has captained the Scholarship side in all seven games this season.

Cassell started playing at Ovenden after his dad encouraged him to try Rugby League, and also played for Siddal, where he won the Yorkshire Juniors League division three title in 2019. This year, following a move to West Bowling, he lifted the BARLA National Cup in July against West Bank Bears.

Over his two years at the Rhinos, Cassell has only missed two games since debuting against St Helens in February 2022 and finished this season with five tries.

Position: Hooker

Community Club: Lock Lane

School: Castleford Academy

First Scholarship Appearance: Vs Warrington Wolves (H) 6th April 2022

Alex Cowley's first introduction to rugby league was getting dunked on his head by team mate Marcus Qareqare but under the eye of his community club coach Mick Beedle, who is one of the hooker's inspirations, he fell in love with the sport at Lock Lane.

Cowley aided the club to trophy success in 2019 as they won the Castleford Cup, plus he captained the year 10 rugby team at Castleford Academy. At the Rhinos under Mark Butterill, he has played seven times over two years (five of his appearances coming in 2023).

He is one of two hookers to progress into the Academy next year, along with Elliott Fox, as he follows the same path as current Rhinos hooker Corey Johnson who also played his junior Rugby for Lock Lane.

Position: Full back

Community Club: Dewsbury Celtic, Dewsbury Moor

School: Spen Valley

First Scholarship Appearance: Vs Bradford Bulls (H) 20th April 2022

Joe Diskin played most his junior rugby at Dewsbury Moor and remembers scoring 12 tries in a game when he was seven. In 2019, he helped the Under-12s gain promotion from division two, which is one of his memorable rugby moments.

As the son of four-time Grand Final winner Matt, Diskin followed his dad into the pathway at Leeds in 2022 and was one of the side’s top try scorers this season with six tries in five games. One of his best performances came on the road against Bradford when the full back scored three tries in a 64-0 win.

Position: Hooker

Community Club: Stanningley

School: Cardinal Heenan Catholic High School

First Scholarship Appearance: Vs Bradford Bulls (H) 20th April 2022

Elliott Fox has been a fan of the Rhinos since he was three years old, so signing his first professional deal for the club is a dream come true.

Fox played his junior rugby at Stanningley and won four titles with the club including the Yorkshire BARLA Cup, Leeds and District Cup, Challenge Cup and Yorkshire Junior League division one title.

He joined Leeds in 2022 and has played seven times over two years under Butterill and the Rhinos coaching staff.

Position: Half back

Community Club: Lock Lane

School: Castleford Academy

First Scholarship Appearance: Vs Warrington Wolves (H) 6th April 2022

Half back Dylan Hutchinson played all his junior rugby for Castleford Lock Lane after bring inspired by his dad to first start playing the sport.

Alongside playing under for the Rhinos last year, he also helped Lock Lane to win the division one title, BARLA Cup and Challenge Cup. This season under head coach Butterill, he has scored four tries in five appearances.

Hutchinson’s great-grandad is former Castleford player Ronald Lewis, who played for the Fords in the 1950s.

Position: Prop

Community Club: Stanningley

School: Priesthorpe

First Scholarship Appearance: Vs Bradford Bulls (H) 20th April 2022

Inspired by his dad's success with the Rhinos, Lore Jones-Buchanan joined his local club Stanningley before pulling on the blue and amber of Leeds in 2022.

He joined Stanningley in 2012 and played all of his junior career in black and white. In 2019, he was part of the side that won the BARLA Cup, Leeds and District Cup and Yorkshire Junior League division one title in a stellar season and at the end of the year, he was one of 19 players to join the Leeds Scholarship for 2022.

The forward was an impact off the bench in his first season under Butterill but started five games in the front row this year.

Position: Wing

Community Club: Lock Lane

School: Hill House School

First Scholarship Appearance: Vs Newcastle Thunder (H) 13th July 2022

Dax Millington swapped Rugby Union for Rugby League when he joined the Rhinos Scholarship in 2022.

The centre started playing Rugby at Hymers College and won the National Schools Rugby Bowl and Yorkshire Cup with the school team in 2022. He was encouraged by his Rugby coach to start playing the sport outside of school time so he joined Doncaster Knights’ junior programme.

He swapped Union for League when he joined Lock Lane and was also picked up by Leeds late last season. He made a try-scoring debut off the bench in a 62-4 win over Newcastle, and after coming back from a broken collarbone towards the end of the 2023 season, he scored one try in two games.

Position: Prop

Community Club: West Bowling

School: St Bede's and St Joseph's Catholic College

First Scholarship Appearance: Vs Wakefield Trinity (A) 15th June 2022

West Bowling’s Jayemm Oladipupo started playing Rugby League at Odsal Sedbergh and also played for West Bowling, where he won the division one title at Under-14s level.

As one of four players to be picked up by Leeds from West Bowling, the forward overcame injury in his debut season to get three wins in three appearances. This year, Leeds also won the three Scholarship games he played in, including against Huddersfield when he scored a length of the field try.

Position: Centre

Community Club: Lock Lane

School: Sherburn High School

First Scholarship Appearance: Vs St Helens (A) 23rd February 2022

Marcus Qareqare has impressed during his time at the Rhinos, particularly in 2023 when he finished as the Scholarship’s top try scorer

Qareqare's family is from Fiji but he was born in Osnabruck, Germany. After moving to England, he has played rugby at Kippax Welfare, alongside his brother Jason who is currently at Castleford Tigers, and most recently at Lock Lane with a number of his current Leeds team mates.

In 2022, Qareqare played his first game for the Rhinos Scholarship and finished his debut season with tries in three out of the four games he played in (Warrington, Hull KR and Wakefield). This year, he went a step better by scoring seven tries, three of which came in a home win over Warrington.

Position: Half back

Community Club: West Bowling

School: Buttershaw BBEC

First Scholarship Appearance: Vs St Helens (A) 23rd February 2022

Harry Smith played all his junior rugby at West Bowling since joining the club’s Under-7s side. He won the Under-14s league title in 2021 and also won the Under-12s man of steel at Rhinos Challenge in 2019. His most memorable rugby moment was walking out as a mascot at the 2017 Grand Final between Leeds and Castleford.

In his first season under Butterill, the half-back played in all but one game for the Rhinos Scholarship. His sole try came in a 62-4 win over Newcastle Thunder at Stanningley, and this year he added another try and 16 goals in six starts. He is one of four players from West Bowling moving into the Academy next year.

Position: Second Row

Community Club: West Bowling

School: Lightcliffe Academy

First Scholarship Appearance: Vs Warrington Wolves (H) 6th April 2022

Loose forward Jacob Stead is part of a four-player cohort from West Bowling that has signed their first professional deals with the Rhinos from 2024.

Stead started playing rugby at school before joining West Bowling, where he won the Yorkshire Junior division one title in 2021 and the Bradford Cup, which is his most memorable rugby moment. Since 2019, he has also represented Calderdale.

He was one of 19 players that joined the Rhinos Scholarship for the 2022 season and made six consecutive games and scored four tries in his debut season. This year, he started at second row and prop in five matches.

Position: Centre

Community Club: Dewsbury Celtic

School: Spen Valley

First Scholarship Appearance: Vs St Helens (A) 23rd February 2022

When it comes to Rugby League, full back Harley Thomas takes inspiration from his dad, who used to play for Hunslet.

Thomas played his junior rugby at Dewsbury Celtic and his during his time at the club, he scored seven tries in one Under-10s match and also won the local cup three times between 2019-2021 (he was awarded the man of the match in the final two years running too).

After being scouted for the Rhinos Scholarship for the 2022 season, he has only missed three games over his two years under Butterill and his team. This year in particular saw Thomas finish as the Scholarship’s top points scorer thanks to scoring six tries and 15 goals.

Position: Wing

Community Club: Lock Lane, Oulton Raiders

School: Temple Moor

First Scholarship Appearance: Vs St Helens (A) 23rd February 2022

Despite playing as a forward for his community club Lock Lane, Callum Webster’s move onto the wing at Leeds saw him finish with six tries in a stellar season.

Webster was scouted by Leeds initially from Oulton Raiders, but moved down the road to Castleford Lock Lane in 2023 to play with a number of his Rhinos Scholarship team mates. This season in particular saw the winger improve on the field as he scored six tries, four of which came in the opening game of the season against Hull KR.

He has also had success representing his school Temple Moor, winning the Yorkshire Plate.

Position: Second Row

Community Club: Lock Lane, Oulton Raiders

School: Boston Spa Academy

First Scholarship Appearance: Vs Warrington Wolves (H) 6th April 2022

Noah Whittingham has been playing rugby since he was six-years old. He started playing rugby union, where he won the Under-16s Yorkshire Cup, but his journey into rugby league began at Oulton Raiders in the Under-12s.

He aided Oulton’s rise into division one in his first season, which is his most memorable rugby moment, and more top performances in 2021 earned Whittingham the chance to continue his development in the Rhinos Scholarship. For this year, he played for Lock Lane alongside training with the Rhinos.

Over the last two years with Leeds, he has played nine times and during his 2022 season, he recorded a hat trick in a 62-4 win over Newcastle.

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