Theres a few full games on YT of him playing for batley boys u14s last season, he's another level, even against lads signed up to super league scholarships. The siddal u15s this season are loaded, best team in the country, we'v got 7 of them in our scholorship, Harvey Oldroyd, a , is another thats a wonderful talent.

Edwards does look very good, strong all-round game already. It's fantastic seeing all this talent at Leeds. And, in no small part at all thanks to the great development work Siddal and some others have been doing.

Siddal have done a lot of superteam building which isn’t supposed to be allowed. Edwards has been poached from Batley Boys and joins a team which is already head & shoulders better than anyone else.
It’s not good for the wider development of talent in the age group

I was just going to post the same thing. They are almost professional in how they operate at junior level, and it all started with the same team Holroyd and Smithies were in. That team was the first unbeatable, and was again built with poaching other clubs.

When you say poaching; are they paying the lads, or just offering better coaching/facilities etc? It probably doesn’t do much for other clubs if the talent is getting pooled. Maybe doesn’t do the talented players much good winning every week either? The Siddal team this year look pretty much untouchable.

If Siddal are genuinely offering better coaching etc then you can’t blame lads and their parents wanting the best environment.

They build a strong team from the under 11's groups, then each year they invite the best players from other teams to come and join them, to make them stronger and stronger, and weaken the oppossition. Of course not payments, but since the link ups with Leeds and Wigan, they have something to offer. Coaches there are on the Leeds coaching and the Wigan coaching, so they get preference for scholarships. Some players are not as good as they look in that side though, and the fact the team is so strong hides that. For example, we have Will Scrimshaw in our academy, who's dad happens to have been the Siddal coach of his age group, and on the Rhinos coaching. Scrimshaw IMO will not even make any professional rugby team, but he still got a contract and looked after in the same way as top players.

Thanks, that's interesting.

To be fair it would be extremely difficult to design and implement a real development structure which was fair to young lads and to the non-glamour clubs too. I don't know if the RFL would have the mandate even if it had the vision, and I gather player numbers are an ongoing concern.

Long-term though, it sounds like the whole system could do with some evolution. Personally I'd favour really young players being developed in regional centres of excellence, with the local SL side at the head. Siddal for example would currently fall into Huddersfield's orbit, and Leeds and Wigan would keep their beaks out.
You wouldn't want to necessarily restrict player's freedom of choice to play for who they want to in the end, but for the good of developing excellence and equal opportunity across the board, sounds like it's not quite there at the moment.

I don't know enough about it to be honest, all changed a lot since I was a lad!

U16s beat Newcastle Thunder 40 - 20 last night, pretty young team with 7 u15s in the squad and a few of the England lads missing.

Any standouts ?

Highlights are up now. I do like Levi Edwards, another beauty of a half break and offload for try assist. Great individual try from the fullback too.

Skirlaugh beat them today I believe.

Castleford 42 - Leeds 12.

I thought that Cas would win the game but didn't see that scoreline coming. Great advert for scholarship rugby.