Oledzki’s the daddy
Teenage father can help rescue Rhinos’ season
THERE has been plenty of wailing and gnashing of teeth at Leeds Rhinos this season but teenage prop Mikolaj Oledzki cannot stop smiling.
At Bolton tomorrow, the new dad should line up against Warrington in a Challenge Cup semi-final that could yet provide salvation to the Rhinos’ desperate campaign.
The men from Headingley are in a relegation scrap for the second time in three seasons and longserving coach Brian McDermott was recently axed. Yet Oledzki’s reputation has soared.
The 19-year-old from Poland represented his homeland in diving and gymnastics before moving to England nine years ago. He said: “My dad’s brother was a successful surgeon in Poland and he moved over to England about 12 years ago.
“Three years later, he asked my dad if he wanted to join him, so we moved to Corby in Northamptonshire and then up to Leeds two or three years later. I began playing rugby league on an amateur basis and then the Rhinos signed me up.”
He was soon handed a five-year deal and has established himself as a regular this term. He was also recently called into the England Knights squad, having already represented his adopted country at academy level.
Last weekend, his girlfriend Amy Brookes gave birth to the couple’s first child, Luna Raene. Oledzki said with a huge smile: “It has been a crazy season because nobody expected me to play as much as I have. It has been nice to get so many games under my belt but also prove that I can play at Super League level.
“It would be amazing to play against Warrington in the Challenge Cup semi-final and because of where we finished in the league, this will be our biggest game of the year.
“My girlfriend is a Leeds lass and to begin with, I was quite nervous about becoming a dad. I was thinking ‘How am I going to do this?’ Any lad would be a bit apprehensive at my age but I’ve got a lot help from everyone at the club.
“Amy and I have bought our first house and having Luna has made everything complete.
“It is a new chapter in our lives and will motivate me to achieve bigger and better things. I’m not only doing it for myself and my team-mates, I’m also doing it for my little one and my girlfriend.
“For the team, it hasn’t been the greatest year but personally it has been a huge step forward for me. To be involved against Warrington would be absolutely crazy.”
It will be a historic occasion at Bolton Wanderers’ newly renamed University of Bolton Stadium home tomorrow as the Challenge Cup semi-finals are being played as a double-header for the first time. First up is Super League leaders St Helens against in-form French side Catalans.
The venue is sold out and Saints’ England centre Mark Percival said: “It will be the biggest and toughest game of the year so far.” CHALLENGE CUP SEMI-FINALS: St Helens v Catalans Dragons (tomorrow, 12.30pm); Warrington Wolves v Leeds Rhinos (tomorrow, 2.45pm). TV: BBC1.