To say there was some satisfaction on the face of Leeds Rhinos co-captain Ash Handley following the Boxing Day victory over Wakefield Trinity would be an understatement. The 28-year-old hadn’t played since the Magic Weekend in August, but after training through pre-season, he lined up at centre as Leeds beat Wakefield 18-16 at Headingley.

And Handley, who celebrates his testimonial year in 2025, believes it’s a fair check of the Rhinos’ progress under Brad Arthur. Starting strong, Leeds were good value for a 12-0 first half lead courtesy of two Jake Connor tries, before George Brown landed the winning try after a Wakefield fightback.

Handley, who was comfortable in the centre with wing pair Maika Sivo and Ryan Hall getting the nod, believes it’s a glimpse into the club’s future, with many young players impressing a 10,000-strong crowd. Speaking to the Rhinos website after the clash, he said: "I don’t think I’ve played in about five months now since Magic Weekend, so it was good for me personally to get out there, and it was good to see what the team is going to look like.

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"We’ve changed a lot in pre-season under Brad, so it’s been good. It’s good to see where we’re at and see if what we’ve been doing in pre-season is working. I think it looked like it was, especially with the first-team boys out in the first half; it looked like it was going to plan. There were a couple of little errors in there, but there always will be, and I think we’re doing what was asked of us, so you can’t really complain."

On the Boxing Day clash, a tradition at Leeds, he continued: "It’s not just a makeshift game; we’ve had 10,000 fans here, so that’s incredible really, and it’s routine for me in my life; I’ve been doing it for so long it would be weird if I didn’t play on Boxing Day. I enjoy it, and it’s good to be with the lads after Christmas and have a little bit of time together after the game."

Wakefield looked to have found a winner of their own before Brown stepped up to score the winning try from a Rhinos kick-off. And for Handley, the first-team experience given to several academy players will do them the world of good as they look to progress at the club and establish themselves as senior players in the years to come.

He added: "They’ve been really good, actually. They help us bring the standard of training up; we train against them every week, and if they’re not on it, then we’ll never be that good.

"They need to be good to help the main team, and they got a chance to show what they’re about, and I think a few of them went really well. There’s some lads in that team there that are only 17 years old, so it’s a massive occasion for them to play in front of 10,000 fans. I’m chuffed for them, and they’ll go on to have great careers."

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