Kallum Watkins says Leeds Rhinos will have to be at their best if they are to come away from Odsal on Friday evening with the two points.
For the first time since 2014, Bradford Bulls will host Leeds in the traditional Easter weekend derby, as two of the sport’s biggest rivals go head-to-head.
Watkins, alongside Ryan Hall, are the only two men from the Rhinos’ side that afternoon to still be with the squad, whilst assistant coach Chev Walker actually lined up for Bradford that afternoon.
Brian McDermott’s side took a convincing 46-6 victory over the Bulls that day, with Watkins and Leeds hoping to produce a similar result to that this time around.
Speaking to the Leeds Rhinos YouTube Channel this week, the England international previewed the Good Friday tie, as he recalled some memories of previous meetings with the Bulls in and out of Super League.
“I’m really looking forward to it,” Watkins revealed. “Going to Odsal and playing against the Bulls, it’s been such a long time since we’ve been over there in the Super League so we’re really looking forward to it.
“The boys have prepped pretty well on a short turnaround, but yeah, exciting times for both clubs.”
On those derbies of yesteryear, the back rower said: “There’s plenty of atmosphere from the fans and hopefully we can get plenty of numbers over there.
“Some great memories of wins and some downs as well, when we’ve lost there, so it’s an exciting time for both clubs and it should be a really, really good game.
“Bradford have gone well this year and it sets up to be a great game, looking forward to it.”
Watkins has ties with current Bulls boss Kurt Haggerty, with the pair working together at Salford Red Devils. The 35-year-old knows that Leeds need a similar performance to that of Sunday’s, where they beat Warrington Wolves 26-22, if they want victory for the second week running.
“For us, it’s about being dominant physically and putting ourselves in a good position to score points, but obviously we’ve got to deal with their threats as well,” he explained.
“All we’ve got to do is be connected and work hard together. We’re going to go through some tough challenges, and for us, it’s about how we react to them things.
“I think we did that last week under quite a bit of pressure from the last game and we’ve come up trumps with what we did in terms of our physicality and putting ourselves in the best position that we can to win games.
“We’ve had some learnings over the last couple of weeks, a couple of defeats from the likes of Wakefield and Hull FC, and they’ve put us in the right mindset over these next couple of weeks now.
“This is a big challenge for us, but we’re looking forward to it.”
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Leeds Rhinos veteran talks Jack Bird impact
The Headingley faithful found a new fan favourite last time out as home debutant Jack Bird put in a brilliant performance that included a try to win over the support of the South Stand.
Bird is set to retain his place in the side this week, after boss Brad Arthur revealed he has done enough to cement the starting centre spot, leaving Harry Newman out of the team.
On Bird, Watkins is delighted for him to have settled in so well, and hopes he can continue that form this week.
“He’s done well, and he’s fitted in really nicely with the group,” said the Leeds man. “He’s had to wait a few weeks to get settled in and get an opportunity. He did well last week.
“For us, he’s someone that’s committed, someone that gets the crowd riled up. He’s quite a character, so it’s good to have him in our group and I’m looking forward to seeing him play more, score some more points and do well for the team.
With that ability to fire up the supporters, a Leeds-Bradford derby is seemingly a perfect game for the former Wests Tigers man to be involved in.
Watkins added: “I think it’ll be quite an insight for him, definitely. He’s probably never been in a game like that before.
“It’ll be quite an insight for him and hopefully he’ll thrive off that. I think our team will thrive off the atmosphere that’s going to be there at Odsal. It’s a really exciting time for us all.”
