Sibling bond gives Rhinos' Newman extra inspiration

Harry Newman (right) and brother Ed enjoy the Wembley atmosphere, as special guests of RFL sponsors

There was a beaming smile on Ed Newman's face as he watched Manchester United stun rivals Manchester City at Wembley to win the men's FA Cup final last weekend.

For brother Harry, the England and Leeds Rhinos centre - and like his dad a proud West Ham fan, he is keen to add - it had been the perfect gift to his sibling: a 'plus one' to experience the glamour of the showpiece occasion involving his favourite club.

Little more than a decade before, such a moment would have seemed like a distant dream. Theirs is a bond that has survived adversity, a near-miss with tragedy that turned their lives upside down.

Ed was just 10 when he had a cardiac arrest, with Harry only a year older and about to start secondary school.

Ed was in a coma for two weeks and in hospital for more than a month.

His parents were told he had a 5% chance of living and, if he did, would probably be disabled for the rest of his life.

While the family has come through the situation together, there are still lasting impacts.

"It's something I've only just come to terms with and started to talk about," Harry told BBC Sport.

"When I was [around] 14, 15 years old, there was something not sitting right with me. I came to this club around then and I was struggling with things. I had always been great in school but now I was getting into trouble and doing things that weren't really me."

Harry said he "hit a real low in my life" 14 months ago when he was "struggling with being on my own" and admitted that was all "linked to what happened with my brother".

'I had fear of abandonment and losing people'

Harry Newman touches the rhino's head at Headingley that was made for players to embrace with their 'reason for playing' - his is brother Ed

His coping mechanism had been to bottle up the emotions that streamed from such a traumatic episode and bury the negativity.

The crippling uncertainty, the fear, plus the fact his parents were understandably consumed with supporting Ed, took its toll on his mental wellbeing as a boy and would have knock-on effects into his adult life.

"Having grown up with my brother, we played football and rugby and all the sports you do together and to have that stripped away and not know whether he was going to make it through is pretty tough to deal with when you're 11," Harry, now 24, said.

"My parents had to go to be with him for obvious reasons, but that created a problem for me where I suffered with a fear of losing people and abandonment, and having to be someone I'm not.

"Over the last 14 months I've been working with a therapist and feel like I've made unbelievable strides. There's so many things now off the field that don't affect me any more in the way that they used to."

Ed's ambitions, and those of the family - "mum wanted us both to play for England together", Harry recalls - were prematurely ended by the heart condition that was discovered following the cardiac arrest.

He was fitted with a mini-defibrillator - as footballers Fabrice Muamba and Tom Lockyer have also had - but it meant an end to sport, even at a recreational level.

Instead, Ed channels his love of the game through Harry's career, attending matches home and away, something that is an inspiration to the older sibling.

"He was very, very good at sport," Harry said. "He was involved with Leeds United and Huddersfield Town growing up. So to watch him support me, I admire him for what he's been through and I love him to pieces.

"At Leeds we have this thing called 'The Spirit of the Rhino' - like Liverpool have the sign above the tunnel at Anfield, we have the rhino's head.

"In there we burn something that means something to us. I don't need to change mine. It will always be him."

'I was out for 11 months and people wrote me off'

Harry Newman's leg break in 2020 robbed him of a Challenge Cup final appearance - one of several long-term injuries he has had at Leeds

There has been hype surrounding Harry Newman since he first emerged as a talented academy player and that promise continues to be fulfilled.

He made his England debut in 2023 and has become one of the Super League's most marketable talents - young, pacy, skilful and full of drive.

It is such talent that secured him the chance to attend the FA Cup final as a guest of sponsors, and to give his brother that bucket-list moment at Wembley.

Yet, much like his off-field life, there have been set-backs; long-term injuries that would have tested the stoutest of characters.

"I had a leg break back in 2020 and was out for 11 months and people wrote me off then," Harry said.

"I've had two hamstring operations since and I feel that would have derailed a lot of people.

"But if I've got the opportunity to be on that pitch when he [Ed] doesn't, then I'll make sure I am. I would never give up and he's my reason why.

"Before I kept everything in, and I'm not perfect now, but I've definitely changed a lot off the field and a lot of people have said that. It's in the way I conduct myself.

"Sometimes it does boil over on the pitch, but I'm a competitor and I want to win. Sometimes I'll have a bad game, last week [against St Helens] was probably the worst game I've ever had."

'We've got to win and win well'

Saturday's visit of Castleford will be live on BBC Two from 17:00 BST, with the potential of a nationwide audience taking in their local rivalry.

There is derby pride at stake, and a chance to get fans on side at their Headingley home after a sticky couple of weeks for the Rhinos form-wise.

Personnel is certainly there and capable. Aside from Newman there is Brodie Croft - a former Steve Prescott Man of Steel - prolific winger Ash Handley, England prop Mikolaj Oledzki and ball-playing back-rower Cameron Smith within the ranks.

"It's about having belief. We'll not be giving up on this season, we'll come out fighting," Harry said.

"Cas will be coming to Headingley wanting to win but this week is about focusing on us. If we play well and do the things we're good at then we can get the job done.

"We've got to win and win well, and prove to the fans that we can."

If Harry and his colleagues get it right, there will be another beaming smile on the face of Ed Newman this weekend.