Coach Brad Arthur has revealed the qualities which have earned Leeds Rhinos teenager Zak Lloyd a first team debut - plus a vital piece of advice.

Lloyd, 18, is set to feature among the substitutes when Rhinos play host to Toulouse Olympique tomorrow (Friday), having been 18th man for last Sunday’s win against Bradford Bulls. “He has got a fair bit of skill,” Arthur said of Leeds’ number 30.

“He can play on the edge and in the middle, he carries the ball tough and he likes the collision part of it. We don’t need him for this option, but he can kick goals as well so he is pretty well-rounded.

How they could line up: Leeds Rhinos predicted starting 13 and bench v Toulouse ...

Zak Lloyd, left, seen with Presley Cassell and Oliver Smart following Leeds Rhinos' win against Warrington Wolves in the 2025 reserves Grand Final. Picture by Peter Smith.

placeholder image — Zak Lloyd, left, seen with Presley Cassell and Oliver Smart following Leeds Rhinos' win against Warrington Wolves in the 2025 reserves Grand Final. Picture by Peter Smith.

“He understands the game well and he’s only young - I’ve said to him he might get a thing wrong or a couple of things, but don’t worry about it. Basically, the information I have given him is I just want him to enjoy it. come on and have fun. You only get to debut once so I just want him to make the most of it and make sure he has a good time.”

A product of the Siddal community club in Halifax, Lloyd joined Rhinos’ scholarship in 2023 and featured in last year’s reserves and academy Grand Finals against Warrington Wolves, picking up a winner’s medal in the former. He played two Betfred Championship games on loan for Hunslet early this season after being recommended to their director of rugby Keith Senior by Leeds transition-coach Chev Walker.

His debut will come at the end of a week which has seen several of Leeds’ young players sign contract extensions and Arthur added: “Our pathways guys, led by Chev, have done a lot of work with these guys so we need to back them. An indication of that is Zak making his debut for us this week.

“I gave Chev the honour of telling Zak. I feel like it was pretty special for Chev after his work with the young guys. Zak was pretty happy about it - he is a pretty confident kid and he couldn’t take the smile off his face. I think he probably liked that Chev was the one who gave him the news. It was just as special for Chev as it was for Zak, I think.”