Leeds Rhinos boss issues half-back challenge after dropping him to reserves

Scrum-half Matt Frawley is set to play for Rhinos’ second-string against St Helens today (Thursday) after being left out of the team which beat Wigan Warriors in Betfred Super League last Saturday.

Frawley missed the Betfred Challenge Cup defeat at Saints two weeks ago after suffering concussion in the previous game, away to Catalans Dragons.

The 30-year-old Australian returned to Rhinos’ initial squad ahead of the game against Wigan, but was 18th man on the day as Jake Connor continued in the half-back role.

Coach Brad Arthur is likely to field an unchanged 17 in tomorrow’ fixture at Warrington Wolves, which would mean Frawley misses out for a third successive match.

“He is handling it professionally, like I’d expect he would,” Arthur said of the former Huddersfield Giants pivot, who played for Canterbury Bulldogs and Canberra Raiders in the southern hemisphere NRL.

“He trained this week and last week against us and lifted the standard of the opposition training against us.

“That’s the professional man he is. He is obviously disappointed and I’d be worried if he wasn’t; he has not shown that through his attitude or his actions, but you can tell he is disappointed.

“His process now is he has just got to train well. He plays with the reserve-grade team tonight and he has got to play well.”

Frawley, who joined Leeds Rhinos ahead of the 2024 campaign, is out of contract at the end of this season.

His campaign so far has been disrupted by a couple of injuries – including a badly cut hand in round two at Salford Red Devils – and the concussion coincided with full-back Lachie Miller’s return at full-back, which freed up Connor for a move into the halves.

“Things chop and change in our game,” Arthur added. “It has taken me this long to get to the same team two weeks in a row, for the first time since I’ve been here.

“Injuries happen, form drops off, but what it also does is provide good, healthy competition.

“The other guys in the team know they’ve got a very credible player who should be in the team, wants to be in the team and is trying to force his way in.

“It keeps the other guys on their toes. I am grateful to our performance guys that they’ve got all these guys fit and firing.

“It is my job to try to get them playing their best footy and trying to put pressure on each other.

“Having a healthy squad creates good competition for spots, which should generate better performances, I would hope.”