NextGen: The Hull KR prop likened to Alex Walmsley that’s overcome health problems to reach Super League
Leo Tennison in action for Hull KR in 2023
Hull Kingston Rovers are seen very much as a club on the rise these days and in homegrown half-back Mikey Lewis they boast one of the most talented playmakers in Super League.
There are plenty of other academy graduates in the first team squad in Zach Fishwick, Louix Gorman, Lennie Ellis, Harvey Moore, Connor Barley and Harvey Horne.
Leo Tennison, a towering front-rower, is tipped for a successful Super League career and Love Rugby League spoke to Hull KR’s head of youth Jason Netherton about the 20-year-old’s rich potential.
Background
A Skirlaugh Bulls junior, Tennison came through Hull KR’s scholarship and academy system before making the step up to the first team squad ahead of the 2023 Super League season.
Standing at 6ft 4in, the 20-year-old progressed through the ranks of the Robins’ Academy, earning a place for Yorkshire in the Academy Origin series in 2022.
A strong, powerful front-rower able to punch holes in defences, Tennison plied his trade for the club’s reserves side in between a impressive loan with Cornwall RLFC last season.
Tennison went on to make his Hull KR first team debut in their Round 21 game against Wigan Warriors, coming on in the final quarter of the game as the young Robins looked to match the hosts.
Since then, Tennison has continued to develop within the Robins’ pack, being one of the stand outs in friendly games against Sheffield Eagles and Leeds Rhinos.
This season, Tennison has featured in Willie Peters’ 21-man squad as he gains valuable experience amongst the first team, edging closer to his next first team appearance for the club.
In March, he signed a new two-year deal with the club, keeping the Academy product at Sewell Group Craven Park until the end of the 2026 season.
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Style of play – ‘an Alex Walmsley type player’
Tennison is seen as a potential late developer, earning him comparisons to St Helens and England prop Alex Walmsley.
Walmsley made his name at Batley Bulldogs in his early twenties before Saints snapped up and made him one of the best props in Super League.
“Leo is well over 6ft and I always think of him as a bit of an Alex Walmsley type player,” says Netherton.
“He’ll come good when he comes to his mid-twenties and maybe 22 or 23 possibly. That’s when you’ll see him properly mature because he’s still finding his feet and working out how to use his body.
“Once he masters that, and understands what works for him, then I think he’s going to be a really good front-rower.
“But I do think Leo will be a late bloomer, a bit like Walmsley when he came through at Batley Bulldogs before coming to prominence at St Helens.
“As a club we need to keep hold of him, understand that he’s going to be a player who reaches his peak quite late, and have some patience with him.
“Due to the coronavirus pandemic, Leo never had his full scholarship because we got stood down for 12 months exactly.
“We lost a lot of development time with the players, but Leo came straight back into the academy – although even that year back was fragmented due to the rules around Covid and when we could train.
“It was a really disjointed 12 months and the players lost a lot of development time, so that’s what I’m talking about when I refer to Leo’s development – he needs to get that time back.
“However, Leo is someone with a tremendous amount of potential, but I think it’s going to take some time to draw it all out.
“He’s had a couple of years with the first team now and you can see the improvement that he’s made. It’s been massive and he’s got plenty of aggression in his game – if you run at him, you’re going to know about it.
“He carries the ball strongly and has a fantastic offload as well. He’s always looking to offload the ball, which is not a skill that a lot of people have now.
“He does create a lot of second-phase play for us, but like I say we’ve got to let him mature.”
Experience at Cornwall and Featherstone Rovers
Tennison has also faced health issues related to his lungs in the last year or two which set him back, but he has now overcome them.
He played on loan for Cornwall in League 1 last year and on dual-registration at Featherstone Rovers this season.
The second tier is a challenging environment, but playing regularly for Featherstone on dual-reg is aiding his development.
“Leo needs to play against men and his time at Featherstone will allow him to develop as a player,” says Netherton.
“He’s played six or so games for them and he will generally play for our reserves one week and then go to Featherstone the next.
“He’s getting as much rugby in as we can and we’re trying to manage his pathway so that he’s getting challenged every week.
“With the reserves play every other week, it’s slowing down the progress of some of these players because they need to be playing every week.
“We’re trying to manage Leo, Louix Gorman and a few others as best we can so that they have a challenge appropriate to them every single week.”
Tennison has been in Hull KR’s 21-man first-team squad and been 18th man at times this season, showing how highly regarded he is at the club.
“I would hope that in the next couple of years he will become a regular in the first team,” adds Netherton.
“He’s an East Hull lad who is ingrained in the community.”
Player profile
Name: Leo Tennison
Date of birth: 31/05/2003
Position: Prop
Senior debut: Wigan Warriors (A), 04/08/2023
Honours: Yorkshire Academy
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