The 21-man squads for Friday’s games in Round 12 of Super League have been confirmed.
Here’s a round-up of all the team news for the three games at 8pm that evening.
Castleford Tigers v Hull FC
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Craig Lingard has made four changes to the Castleford side that got hammered by St Helens two weeks ago.
Sylvester Namo returns to the side after his five-game ban ended, having utilised the reserves’ loophole at the weekend.
Nixon Putt and Samy Kibula also return to the squad, alongside Jason Qareqare, who this week penned a new deal to keep him at the club for another two years.
The four players they replace include some big names, as half-back Jacob Miller and free-scoring winger Louis Senior, alongside Fletcher Rooney and Brad Martin, miss out.
Meanwhile, Simon Grix has also made four changes, as Joe Cator, Davy Litten and Matty Laidlaw have been dropped as well as Franklin Pele, who has been loaned to York Knights in the Championship on a short-term deal.
Jack Ashworth and Harvey Barron are amongst the replacements, as well as two players that could be making their first Hull FC appearances of the season.
Brad Fash, after being injured in pre-season, has been named for the first time this year after recovering from his ankle injury.
In addition, halfback Ben Reynolds, who joined on a season-long loan deal from Hull KR this month, is set to make his debut for the West Hull outfit.
Huddersfield Giants v Leigh Leopards
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These two sides faced each other in Round One of Super League, and Ian Watson has named a side he’ll be keen to see replicate their opening weekend victory over the Leopards.
Three changes have been made to the side that got comprehensively beaten by Warrington Wolves in the Challenge Cup at the weekend, with Joe Greenwood and Adam Milner dropping out alongside Adam Swift, who returned to the squad at the weekend despite injury.
Chris Hill returns after a lengthy injury to his Achilles, which has kept him out since mid-March.
Matty English and Harry Rushton have, however, impressed in his absence.
Also returning are Sam Halsall and Thomas Deakin.
Leigh Leopards, at the time of writing, are yet to release their team news.
St Helens v Leeds Rhinos
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These two sides play a men’s and women’s double-header live on Sky Sports on Friday.
Paul Wellens’ side sees just two changes to the side that beat Castleford in the last round of Super League. Tee Ritson misses out, as does Jake Wingfield, who is set to miss over three months of action due to a shoulder injury which has required surgery.
Stepping in is Jonny Vaughan, who is named in a first-team 21-man squad for the very first time since joining the first team for this season.
Also making a first appearance this year could be Agnatius Paasi, whose ankle, MCL and ACL injuries in last year’s Challenge Cup semi-final have kept him out until now.
He appeared in a reserves’ victory against Castleford last week, and it has now been decided that he’s ready to be named for the first team.
As we heard from Leeds Rhinos head coach Rohan Smith this week, two big injury boosts in Brodie Croft and Harry Newman have been handed to them, and they indeed have been named in the 21-man squad for this Friday’s clash.
Also making his way into the side is Matty Russell after joining from Warrington Wolves on a short-term loan deal.
Big names such as David Fusitu’a, Tom Holroyd and James Bentley remain out due to injury.
