Leeds v Salford: Predicted line-ups and late injury news

After their fiery encounter a few weeks ago, the Rhinos host the Red Devils at Headingley. Leeds come into the game on the back of two disheartening defeats to table-topping Catalans whilst Salford claimed a vital win at the expense of Wakefield last week. This could be closer than many people think and could be an important game in both their seasons.

The Rhinos are almost full strength for the first time this season. After fielding 30 players this campaign, Leeds will have the vast majority of their spine back together, their first choice backs out wide whilst most of their brilliant forwards are back in the fold. That’s largely down to the return of Mikolaj Oledzki and Ash Handley from self-isolation. That doesn’t mean there aren’t conundrums for Richard Agar to solve, however. He’ll have to decide who should partner Luke Gale in the halves for one thing. Will it be Kruise Leeming or Liam Sutcliffe and if Sutcliffe doesn’t start at six does he feature at centre? The Rhinos now have three star centres available leaving Agar with the nice kind of coaching headache.

The same could be said of Salford thanks to the return of Jack Wells, Lee Mossop and Dan Sarginson. I expect Sarginson to come in at fullback allowing Morgan Escare to move to the wing – the position from which he scored a superb try against the Rhinos earlier this season. However, it’s hard to figure out who will be dropped from the backline to allow for Sarginson’s return. Equally, Joe Burgess is available and could be drafted in to provide greater speed. A similar range of options are available in the pack thanks to the return of Mossop and Wells. I fancy both to feature and they’ll be looking for a measure of revenge having suffered suspension following the defeat to Leeds at the AJ Bell. Perhaps the most interesting question hanging over the Salford team is whether Ata Hingano plays. Richard Marshall voiced his excitement about the halfback in his press conference yesterdat and revealed he could feature in the 17.

Leeds
16 Richie Myler
2 Tom Briscoe
4 Konrad Hurrell
3 Harry Newman
5 Ash Handley
15 Liam Sutcliffe
7 Luke Gale
8 Mikolaj Oledzki
9 Kruise Leeming
10 Matt Prior
11 Alex Mellor
12 Rhyse Martin
17 Cameron Smith
Substitutes
14 Brad Dwyer
18 Tom Holroyd
19 King Vuniyayawa
25 James Donaldson

Salford
23 Dan Sarginson
2 Ken Sio
4 Krisnan Inu
22 Rhys Williams
1 Morgan Escare
6 Tui Lolohea
18 Chris Atkin
8 Lee Mossop
9 Andy Ackers
25 Jack Ormondroyd
20 Harvey Livett
11 Ryan Lannon
16 Greg Burke
Substitutes
10 Sebastine Ikahihifo
12 Pauli Pauli
33 Ata Hingano
26 Jack Wells