Suspended Leeds Rhinos young gun among Hunslet recruits for London Broncos clash

Leeds Rhinos young gun Joe Butterfield is among the recruits loaned in by Hunslet for Saturday afternoon’s Championship clash against London Broncos, despite a suspension looming large.

Butterfield – who awaits his first-team debut for Leeds – landed a Grade D striking charge following a recent defeat to Wigan Warriors at reserves level.

That saw him cop a one-match ban, but due to the way the disciplinary system works with the reserves competition, his suspension is not in place until next week.

Accordingly, he’s free to feature this weekend out on loan for Hunslet, who he’s already featured four times for this term and scored a sole try.

Suspended Leeds Rhinos young gun Joe Butterfield among Hunslet recruits for London Broncos clash

Kyle Trout’s side sit 15th on the Championship ladder ahead of their game away against the table-topping Broncos, four competition points outside of the top ten, which they need to finish in to be involved in the play-offs this term.

Hunslet, who were beaten 40-14 at Workington Town last weekend, have also drafted in hooker Aiden Doolan from Super League outfit Castleford Tigers for the game against London.

Warrington Wolves youth product Doolan joined Cas from Championship side Barrow Raiders ahead of the 2026 campaign, and has so far donned a Tigers shirt on two occasions.

Also playing four games back on loan at Barrow over the course of the campaign so far, Saturday’s game against the Broncos – which takes place on Saturday afternoon at The Morrow Stadium in Ebbsfleet – will mark his first appearance for Hunslet.

Elsewhere, the Parksiders’ 21-man squad includes utility back Josh Ratuvou, who has linked up with the West Yorkshire outfit as a tribalist.

Ratuvou came through the youth system at Hull KR, though never registered a senior appearance for the Robins. More recently, he has been starring in rugby union for local side Hull RUFC.