Rhinos coach Brad Arthur has named close to a full-strength squad for a game Leeds will be expected to win by a cricket score.
Leeds’ Betfred Super League campaign begins at home to Wakefield Trinity exactly a week later, but Croft reckons the Rhinos can’t go into the third round Cup tie with a half-hearted attitude.
“If you do that, injuries happen and bad habits can come out,” he warned. “We are definitely going all-in.”
The Australian stressed: “Any time we pull on a Leeds jersey this year we want to put in a performance the fans and our teammates can be proud of and BA [Arthur] can be happy with. He holds everyone to account and I think that has been really good for this team.”
Croft, who was Man of Steel in 2022, insisted: “We are respecting the opposition by putting out a strong team and we have to approach it the best way we can, to hold ourselves to our standards and how we want to perform and what we want to do.
“Any time we pull on a Leeds jersey this year it is an important game, regardless of who the opposition is. It’s the start of our Challenge Cup journey and we have high hopes for this competition.”
Leeds Rhinos hoping to right their sorry Challenge Cup record
Brad Arthur has named his 21 man squad to take on @wests_warriors
in the @TheChallengeCup this Saturday at AMT Headingley with Keenan Palasia, Cooper Jenkins and Jake Connor set for their official debuts and Harry Newman looking to make his 100th appearance for the club— Leeds Rhinos (@leedsrhinos) February 6, 2025
Leeds haven’t won a Challenge Cup tie since lifting the trophy at Wembley five years ago. Croft’s record in the competition is played four, lost three, so he’s as desperate as anyone for a good run this year.
“It’s not a great record,” he admitted. “It’s an extremely tough competition; being a do or die game every time you play in it, you have to be on.
“We’ve spoken about what we want to drive for in this Challenge Cup and I’ve got full belief in the boys and what we are capable of achieving.
“The beauty of the competition is everyone has that chance of winning four games to get to Wembley. Everyone has equal opportunity and it’s up to you as a team to grasp it.”
Leeds were kept in training for two weeks after their final match last year and pre-season began in November, so Croft is happy to get the competitive campaign underway.
“Everyone always speaks about how well pre-season has gone, but you don’t really know until you get into the season,” he admitted.
“Then you get a true reflection, but the boys have been ripping in and buying into what BA wants us to be about this season.
“Personally, I feel as fit and strong as I ever have, so I am really looking forward to it and what it entails.”
