Which academies have produced the most Super League players in 2026? Hull KR only 14th..
Clockwise: Tom Burgess, George Williams, Dean Hadley and Luke Thompson.
Super League 2026 is now well into its stride – with over 300 players having already played in the competition inside the opening six rounds of the campaign.
Many of those players hail from either Britain or France, and dozens of them have come through some of the most prestigious academies in the sport.
But not every player came through the conventional pathway, with some being produced by clubs that are perhaps not as famous for delivering a stream of young talent into the game.
So with Easter approaching, Love Rugby League has – to our best attempt, anyway! – attempted to work out which academies have been the most prolific.
To our knowledge, 21 different clubs have supplied at least one player who has made an appearance in 2026 so far. Where players have spent time in multiple academies, we have leaned favour to where they spent the most time or where they ultimately made their professional debut.
Some players on this list also played for the now-defunct City of Hull Academy. Those players have been allocated to the team where they made their professional debut. Also, if a player started in the amateur sport or came into the game late, we have allocated them, again, to the team where they played their first professional game.
Without further ado, starting with the four clubs who have supplied a solitary player..
=18. Leigh Leopards: 1
Ex-players: Frankie Halton.
=18. Sheffield Eagles: 1
Ex-players: Joe Batchelor
=18. Newcastle Thunder: 1
Ex-players: Sam Luckley
=18. Batley Bulldogs: 1
Ex-players: Alex Walmsley
16. Featherstone Rovers: 2
Ex-players: Zak Hardaker, Jimmy Beckett.
15. Swinton Lions: 3
Ex-players: Andy Badrock, Louis Brogan, Matty Ashton
=15. Salford RLFC: 3
Ex-players: Josh Rourke, Marc Sneyd, Niall Evalds.
14. Hull KR: 4
Current players: Mikey Lewis.
Ex-players: Joe Cator, Will Tate, George Lawler.
13. London Broncos: 5
Ex-players: Rob Butler, Matt Davis, Joe Keyes, Mike McMeeken, Jordan Williams.
12. Widnes Vikings: 6
Ex-players: Olly Ashall-Bott, Chris Atkin, Keanan Brand, Ed Chamberlain, Danny Walker, Matt Whitley.
11. Toulouse Olympique: 7
Current payers: Lambert Belmas, Anthony Marion, Romeo Tropis, Paul Marcon, Mathieu Jussaume, Hugo Garrigues.
Ex-players: Justin Sangare
10. Castleford Tigers: 9
Current players: George Hirst, Sam Hall, Fletcher Rooney, Joe Westerman, Jason Qareqare
Ex-players: Daryl Clark, Bailey Hodgson, Jordan Thompson, Brandon Douglas
9. Bradford Bulls: 12
Current players: Luke Hooley, Rowan Milnes, Ethan Ryan, Ebon Scurr.
Ex-players: Tom Burgess, George Flanagan, Alex Mellor, Jayden Myers, Cam Scott, Matty Storton, Jake Trueman, James Harrison.
8. Wakefield Trinity: 14
Current players: Max Jowitt, Jay Pitts, Oli Pratt, Harvey Smith, Tom Johnstone.
Ex-players: Yusuf Aydin, Connor Bailey, James Batchelor, Jordy Crowther, Sam Eseh, Josh Griffin, Lewis Murphy, Noah Booth, Leon Ruan.
=5. Warrington Wolves: 15
Current players: Ben Currie, Joe Philbin, Cai Taylor-Wray, Josh Thewlis, Ewan Irwin, Toby King.
Ex-players: Andy Ackers, Gareth O’Brien, Will Dagger, Aiden Doolan, Ellis Gillam, Tom Whitehead, Connor Wrench, Eribe Doro, George King.
=5. Catalans Dragons: 15
Current players: Julian Bousquet, Alrix Da Costa, Leo Darrelatour, Ben Garcia, Jean-Pierre Lima, Romain Navarrete, Matthieu Laguerre, Alexis Lis, Lenny Marc.
Ex-players: Tiaki Chan, Arthur Mourgue, Arthur Romano, Tanguy Zenon, Mathieu Cozza, Cesar Rouge
=5. Huddersfield Giants: 15
Current players: Jack Billington, Connor Carr, Matty English, Sam Hewitt, Fenton Rogers, Kieran Rush, Olly Russell
Ex-players: Kruise Leeming, Darnell McIntosh, Will Pryce, Innes Senior, Jake Wardle, Sam Wood
4. Hull FC: 17
Current players: Denive Balmforth, Harvey Barron, Tom Briscoe, Callum Kemp, Davy Litten, Lewis Martin, Matty Laidlaw, Logan Moy.
Ex-players: Jack Brown, Kieran Buchanan, Dean Hadley, Liam Harris, Jordan Lane, Jez Litten, Ben McNamara, Connor Wynne.
3. St Helens: 20
Current players: Deon Cross, Owen Dagnall, George Delaney, Jonny Lomax, Harry Robertson, Noah Stephens, Jack Welsby, George Whitby, Alfie Sinclair, Jake Davies, Jake Wingfield, Mark Percival.
Ex-players: Jack Ashworth, Lewis Dodd, Joe Greenwood, Tommy Makinson, Elliot Peposhi, Danny Richardson, Josh Simm, Luke Thompson.
2. Leeds Rhinos: 30
Current players: George Brown, Presley Cassell, Ryan Hall, Ash Handley, Tom Holroyd, Ben Littlewood, Riley Lumb, Harry Newman, Jarrod O’Connor, Cameron Smith, Ned McCormack, Mikolaj Oledzki, Kallum Watkins.
Ex-players: Jack Broadbent, Tyler Dupree, Oli Field, Ashton Golding, Corey Hall, Sam Hall, Liam Hood, Ben Jones-Bishop, Elliot Minchella, Robbie Mulhern, Paul McShane, Tom Nicholson-Watton, Jack Sinfield, Brad Singleton, Owen Trout, Sam Walters, AJ Wallace.
1. Wigan Warriors: 35
Current players: Zach Eckersley, Liam Farrell, Jack Farrimond, Tom Forber, Ethan Havard, Noah Hodkinson, Jack Hughes, Liam Marshall, Junior Nsemba, Brad O’Neill, Ollie Partington, Harry Smith, Taylor Kerr.
Ex-players: Amir Bourouh, Joe Bretherton, Joe Burgess, Liam Byrne, Josh Charnley, Tom Davies, Oliver Gildart, Sam Halsall, Chris Hankinson, Harvie Hill, Joe Mellor, James McDonnell, Sam Powell, Harry Rushton, Joe Shorrocks, Jake Shorrocks, Ryan Sutton, George Williams, Harvey Wilson, Ryan Brown, Jacob Douglas.
