Hull FC and Leigh Leopards will be looking to continue their fine starts to the Super League season this evening when the two sides go head to head at the MKM Stadium. Leigh will be putting their 100 per cent record on the line having beaten Wigan Warriors, Huddersfield Giants and Catalans Dragons in impressive fashion.
Interestingly, Hull have faced the exact same opposition in the opening three rounds, with a home defeat to Wigan being the only blotch on their record. As such, the Black and Whites have four points to their name and they have the opportunity to equal last season’s total tally with a win in round four.
It’s an intriguing contest then, but how will both sides line up?
Well, it seems likely that Hull will hand a debut to Liam Knight, who has been added to the squad as a late addition following his arrival at the club earlier in the week. The prop has been training with the Black and Whites but he hasn’t played since his release by Canterbury Bulldogs last year and John Cartwright will be wary of throwing him in the deep end before he is physically ready.
A bench spot looks most likely, with Knight set to be asked to step in to replace one of the starters. It’s a fair to assume the back line will remain unchanged with Logan Moy at full-back and Jordan Rapana in the centre spots.
In fact, the only change to the starting XIII could come in the back-row with Jed Cartwright fit again after picking up a minor injury in the opening game of the season at Catalans. He could replace Ed Chamberlain, who drops out with a head knock.
Adrian Lam has plenty to ponder as he puts together his Leigh side, with a number of players carrying issues. David Armstrong hasn’t trained this week due to illness with the full-back set to be given all the time he needs to prove he is able to play in East Yorkshire.
Whether he plays or not remains to be seen, but if he does, that will likely see Bailey Hodgson moved to the wing to partner Tesi Niu. Lam was confident that Umyla Hanley would be fit after taking a knock to his knee last time out and he had high hopes for Alec Tuitavake, too.
With Robbie Mulhern ruled out, Tuitavake could even start the game in Hull, with Lam moving him from the bench spot he has had all season.
Lam hinted that Andrew Badrock could be one name to come onto the bench this week and the head coach will be hoping Aaron Pene is fit enough to be included for the first time this season, too, after struggling with an Achilles issue.
Predicted Hull FC side: Logan Moy; Harvey Barron, Tom Briscoe, Jordan Rapana, Lewis Martin; Cade Cust, Aidan Sezer; Herman Ese’ese, Amir Bourouh, Yusuf Aydin; Jed Cartwright, Jordan Lane; John Asiata.
Bench: Hugo Salabio, Jack Ashworth, Liam Knight, Will Hutchinson.
Predicted Leigh Leopards side: David Armstrong; Bailey Hodgson, Tesi Niu, Umyla Hanley, Keanan Brand; Lachlan Lam, Gareth O’Brien; Owen Trout, Edwin Ipape, Alec Tuitavake; Ethan O’Neill, Jack Hughes, Isaac Liu.
Bench: Aaron Pene, Matt Davis, Brad Dwyer, Andrew Badrock.
