Agar determined to make top four despite hectic fixture schedule

Leeds head coach Richard Agar insists his side are still determined to make the top four despite their intense fixture schedule in the coming weeks.

The Rhinos currently sit fifth in the Super League table, 5% behind Catalans on win percentage, but will now face four games in just 10 days, starting with a trip to face St Helens on Friday.

It’s a tall order and will significantly test Agar’s squad depth but the Leeds boss says reaching the play-offs remains their goal from hereon in.

“It’s a massive challenge,” he said. “We’ve already spoken to the boys earlier in the week about what’s in front of us. We desperately want to make the top four.

“Things have fallen in a very difficult way for us in terms of the fact that (before) our Challenge Cup games, we decided to field less experienced teams against top four teams.

“We’re coming off the back of a very tiring, emotional weekend and now we’ve got six games in 17 days. For us, it’s about getting the balance.

“We’re going to get a team out there tomorrow night as strong as we possibly can. I’m keen not to play anybody tomorrow that’s not 100% fit. We have got players that I know if I play them tomorrow night, they probably won’t play the next two or three games.

“If we let them get closer to 100%, then there’s a chance of them playing in the Castleford and Wakefield games at least. But after then it’s going to be an absolute rotation of the squad.

“No one else is playing that amount of games in that amount of days, so I do feel that the Challenge Cup has given us significantly more challenges than the other teams chasing the (top four) spot.

“Nonetheless, we’ve spoken about our inability to train as much, our inability to preview and review as much and we feel we’ve got enough underpinned within us that we can turn up and give it a really good whirl.”

Leeds’ top four hopes could also be dealt a blow by the situation at Catalans, whose game against Hull FC this week was postponed after seven positive Covid-19 tests.

It means the Dragons could have played several games less than most other teams once the regular season ends, potentially having a significant effect on their points percentage.

And while Agar concedes that could dent the Rhinos’ play-off chances, he doesn’t blame the French side.

“It’s crazy but that’s what it is,” he added. “We’ve sort of been penalised by getting called off by other teams but that’s not their fault.

“You look at Catalans now, and everybody’s going, ‘Catalans have missed the Wigan game, the Hull game, they missed one against ourselves, they’re probably going to miss one against Warrington’.

“So getting 15 games looks like an easier run for Catalans but that’s not their fault, it’s plain and simply not their fault.

“We all knew that it wasn’t going to be equal when it came to deciding these places. There’s probably a chance there’s going to be an element of unfairness in it and I think we’re going to bear the brunt of that.

“However, it’s not going to stop us having a right good go, and at the same time we’re not moaning and whinging, or looking at other clubs and how the cards might have fallen for them.

“And yet again we’ll find out some more stuff about our squad. If it hurts us in the short term and we don’t make it, we will have got some great experience into some of these young guys moving forward.

“It’s going to be more than a 17-man challenge. It’s going to challenge the whole squad but I think if we could pull it off, it would be an enormous achievement and we’ll give it a damn good go.”