Mally Waite, a founder member who helped to build up East Leeds Community Rugby League Club, has become the second recipient of the John Holmes Memorial Award.

Waite worked for the club as coach and chairman, and was there again to steer the ship by helping to rebuild the new Easy Road facilities.

The presentation, made by John’s elder brother Brian, was the climax to the annual City of Leeds Celebration of Rugby League dinner, hosted by the Leeds Rugby Foundation in the Long Bar at Headingley Carnegie Stadium.

Pupils from three Leeds schools – Priesthorpe (Year Nine), Temple Moor (Year Eight) and the South Leeds Academy (Year Seven), who have reached their respective Champion Schools’ finals, were interviewed on stage by Leeds Rugby’s chief executive Gary Hetherington.

South Leeds will play in the Steven Mullaney Memorial match at Wembley Stadium as a curtain-raiser to this year’s Challenge Cup final on Saturday, August 27.

Long-serving Leeds and District official Bernard Shooman was presented with the lifetime achievement award by previous recipient Paul Daley.

Leeds Rhinos’ head coach Brian McDermott and player Jamie Jones-Buchanan were guests and undertook an entertaining question and answer session.

The John Holmes award was collected by Peter Longbottom on behalf of Waite, who was on a work secondment in America as a consultant engineer.