Salford Red Devils host Leeds Rhinos on Thursday night with the two sides meeting for the second time this season.
Having previously played in Round Two, the two teams face off again at the same venue as Super League’s loop fixtures rear their ugly head once again.
Round Two saw the Red Devils get on the scoreboard first with Salford allowed to field a full team after their salary cap restrictions were lifted, having played their academy players against St Helens in Round One.
Despite Kallum Watkins crossing over first in that game, Leeds went on to score 32 unanswered points as they secured an easy victory despite losing star men Brodie Croft and Cameron Smith to a failed HIA and ankle injury, respectively.
Both men will miss out again and the rest of the team news is now in with both teams naming their squads ahead of Thursday night’s clash.
Salford Red Devils team news
All eyes were on what sort of team Salford would name and whether Red Devils captain Kallum Watkins would be in the squad given the reports that he’s close to joining Leeds Rhinos.
Assistant coach Krisnan Inu denied any knowledge of that in his presser and gave little insight on how the squad could line up but per the Super League Match Centre, Salford have named a 21-man squad that does not feature the club captain, who it’s since been confirmed has left for Leeds Rhinos.
Another big change is the inclusion of Sam Davis who had been sent on loan to London Broncos and was not within Salford’s limited salary cap, meaning his inclusion will spark plenty of questions of how the Red Devils have potentially freed up cash.
Loanees George Hill and Jonny Vaughan are named again but the likes of Tiaki Chan and Chris Hill, who both picked up injuries against Catalans, are not. Ryan Brierley, who pulled up in the warm-up against Catalans, is named meaning his injury could not be as bad as first expected.
Salford Red Devils 21-man squad: Chris Atkin, Ryan Brierley, Deon Cross, Sam Davis, Matty Foster, Ben Hellewell, George Hill, Esan Marsters, Joe Mellor, Kai Morgan, Jayden Nikorima, Jack Ormondroyd, Jamie Pye, James Shields, Joe Shorrocks, Justin Sangare, Jonny Vaughan, Joshua Wagstaffe, Harvey Wilson, Shane Wright, Finlay Yates
Our 21-man squad for Thursday’s @SuperLeague meeting with @leedsrhinos!👇 pic.twitter.com/A1JsPCEuFJ
— Salford Red Devils 👹 (@SalfordDevils) April 8, 2025
Leeds Rhinos team news
After naming an unchanged 21-man squad for the Round Six Super League game against Warrington Wolves, Brad Arthur is not afforded that luxury this week with one major man missing out through injury.
That is the aforementioned Brodie Croft with the Rhinos releasing an update on their playmaker to confirm that he would miss the rest of April, at the very least, on account of a hamstring injury.
Outside back Ethan Clark-Wood also misses out with Jack Smith and Presley Cassell the two men to step into the fray. Smith is an outside back whilst Cassell is a very highly-touted forward who has starred for the Leeds and England academy sides.
Jake Connor had played alongside Brodie Croft in Round Six but Jack Sinfield or Matt Frawley will likely take that role in what could be an otherwise unchanged team.
Leeds Rhinos 21-man squad: Lachie Miller, Harry Newman, Ash Handley, Ryan Hall, Matt Frawley, Mikolaj Oledzki, Keenan Palasia, James Bentley, James McDonnell, Jarrod O’Connor, Sam Lisone, Morgan Gannon, Cooper Jenkins, Jake Connor, Tom Holroyd, Jack Sinfield, Alfie Edgell, Tom Nicholson-Watton, Riley Lumb, Jack Smith, Presley Cassell
SQUAD NEWS | Brad Arthur has named his 21-man squad to face @SalfordDevils on Thursday 👇 pic.twitter.com/ShQvDNnS1h
— Leeds Rhinos (@leedsrhinos) April 8, 2025
