13 clubs will compete in this year’s competition, including reigning champions Wigan Warriors, who open their account against London Broncos. All 11 English Super League clubs will participate, plus Bradford Bulls and Wakefield Trinity from the Betfred Championship, and matches will run bi-weekly alongside the Academy competition.

The Reserves grade will also apply the new restriction on tackle height, following trials in the Academy competition last summer which were found to have significantly reduced the amount of head contact and the number of head accelerations.

Last season saw the Rhinos Reserves improve their sixth-place finish as Smith and his staff helped guide the side to fourth place in the final league standings and eight wins. Most of the players that turned out for the Reserves were homegrown, giving players such as Tom Nicholson-Watton, Alfie Edgell, Luis Roberts and Ned McCormack a platform to continue their development before making the step up to the first team this year.

2024 sees the Leeds Rhinos face off against a Leigh side that didn’t play a Reserves game last season. Stuart Littler’s side are the newest team in the division and started their preparations last weekend when they took on Rochdale Hornets in a friendly. Leeds then take on St Helens at the end of the March before playing their first home game against Warrington on 6th April.

Leeds Rhinos bring in rugby union trialist

Head coach Tony Smith has been able to name a strong 21-man squad in the build-up to the opening game of the Reserves season, made up of a mixture of first team and academy talent.

Almost all of the team got minutes for Leeds in the Reserves grade last season, with many going on to get opportunities to impress Rohan Smith and his staff during pre-season. 2023 Academy player of the year Fergus McCormack is named alongside his brother Ned, who was a try scorer in the win over Hull KR at the start of February, plus Freddie Brennan-Jones, Mason Corbett, Dylan Proud, Harrison Gilmore and Ben Littlewood also featured on either Boxing Day against Wakefield Trinity or the Keith Howard Foundation Trophy clash with Bradford.

Jack Smith and Riley Lumb also featured during pre-season, with Smith scoring against Wakefield on Boxing Day. They are two of 15 players that lifted the Academy Grand Final trophy with the Rhinos in 2022, including Kyden Frater who scored the match-winning try that day.

Kieran Hudson could get his first taste of Reserves action, having moved to Leeds from Castleford in the off-season, along with triallist Josh Gillespie, who has previously played Rugby Union at Northampton Saints and Ealing Trailfinders.

Jack Sinfield, Alfie Edgell and Tom Nicholson-Watton have been named on Rohan Smith’s 21-man team for the Super League trip to Leigh, but if unselected, they will also be eligible for the Reserves game on Saturday too.