Young Player of the Year award means a lot, says Harry Newman

Leeds centre Harry Newman was honoured to be named Super League’s Young Player of the Year for 2020 – and is determined to return from injury even stronger next season.

The 20-year-old scored three tries in 12 games for the Rhinos this year, taking his tally to 12 tries in 38 first team appearances.

Newman, who is an England Knights international, suffered a broken leg in September which ruled him out for the rest of the season – but he is determined to come back bigger and better in 2021.

On winning the award, Newman said: “It means a lot. We’ve seen a lot of great talent across Super League this year and I think Covid has given the opportunity for a lot of young players to show what they can do on the big stage.

“It was devastating to suffer that injury eight weeks ago but as soon as it happened I knew it was a bad injury.

“The first few days in hospital were quite tough and I was waiting six days for an operation due to Covid but now I’m home, all I can do is stay positive.

“I’ve got the mindset that there is nothing I can do about the injury, I’ve just got to do everything I can to come back an even better athlete and player than I was.

“It is an opportunity for me to grow, I can still practice all my skill and just make sure I come back a better athlete and I’m looking forward to next year.

“Rehab is going really well at the minute. I started to load the leg out of the boot, I’ve started to walk without crutches in rehab and hopefully in the next couple of weeks I’ll be able to walk again and then I can push on to the next step.”

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