Rhinos won 44-2 at Headingley Carnegie just six weeks ago, but McClennan said: "We'll be playing against a Bradford team that are in form.

"Last time we played them we went okay, but not as good as we first thought.

"After the game we all felt pretty good. It is a big match against Bradford and it was quite a dominant scoreline, but we've reviewed the game and we look back on it now and think we didn't play as well as we probably could have.

"That is the challenge of playing any game, it's about fulfilling what you expect to do in a match. We know in this weekend's game we are going to have to play a lot better than the last time we played them." Rhinos are still without six members of last year's Grand Final-winning 17 through injury, while Bulls are near full-strength.

"You just control the controllable," said McClennan. "Whatever side we put on the field, we'll have every confidence in them doing a job.

"Whether Bradford can put out a full squad or not is none of our business. We will just concentrate on what we can do.

"Whatever 17 we name will be out on the field competing for every second of the game."

Former Bulls skipper Jamie Peacock is likely to step back into the starting line-up today after being among the substitutes in the 36-22 win at Hull KR eight days ago.

McClennan credited Peacock with getting Rhinos back in the contest after a tough start.

"He helped get us going again, as only Jamie Peacock can do," said the Leeds boss.

"Having him on the bench last week was tactical, because of the nature of our squad for that night. It's not something we want to do for the future.

"You work out your squad and you work out what you think's going to be the best tactics.

"We came up with a plan and it worked well. This week we're going to have to come up with a pretty good strategy to play against Bradford."
McClennan is relishing today's occasion, under the Millennium Stadium's closed roof. He said: "I think everyone enjoys playing at a great venue, also the chance to be there with all the other clubs.

"Sometimes it's so competitive you just think about trying to win your next game and you forget about what a wonderful sport we have. That's the beauty of this weekend, it's chance for us all to get together and enjoy our wonderful sport.

"We're excited about it. The players and the staff really enjoyed last year. It was a tremendous success, and we hope we can contribute in a positive way."

Rhinos will hot foot it straight back from Cardiff to begin preparations for next Sunday's Carnegie Challenge Cup fifth round tie at Harlequins.

"We don't normally look too far ahead, but in this case we are," said McClennan. "We've got Harlequins the weekend after and I must admit, we are thinking about that now."

Loan signing Eric Anselme could make his Leeds debut today, winger Ryan Hall will replace Lee Smith and teenage full-back Ben Jones-Bishop has also been drafted into Rhinos' initial 19-man squad.