Leeds Rhinos coach Brian McClennan will once again turn to his young stars in a bid to keep the club's Carnegie Challenge Cup dream alive against Harlequins RL at the Stoop tomorrow.
Leeds are without a raft of injured first-choice players for the fifth round tie and news that Great Britain star Gareth Ellis is fit to return has been tempered by the loss, possibly for two weeks, of fellow forward Luke Burgess with a groin strain.
McClennan said: "Gareth's return is a huge bonus for us. We'll make a final assessment tomorrow morning on him but we are confident he will be available.
"The cup is a really big challenge for us, especially because we are in a period now where we face a bit of adversity as far as injuries and players who are unavailable. That makes it an even greater challenge for us but one we are looking forward to."
As well as Ellis, McClennan has added young full-back Ben Jones-Bishop to his 19-man squad along with Danny Williams and Danny Allan from the squad on duty for the win over Bradford Bulls in Cardiff.
Ellis replaces French international Eric Anselme, who is unavailable because he only joined the club after the Challenge Cup registration deadline, while Kiwi Brent Webb played in the Centenary Test defeat against Australia yesterday.
Rhinos are desperate to do well in this season's competition as it gives them the chance to hold the engage Super League, World Club Challenge and Carnegie Challenge Cup titles at the same time.
"It is massive for us as a team and a club. We have got a huge heritage in the competition and we are hoping, as with every competition we enter this season, to do as well as we possibly can in it," said McClennan.
Despite their problems, Rhinos have an excellent record against the Quins, who are coached by former Leeds assistant Brian McDermott.
It is the first time Harlequins have hosted Leeds in the cup having lost three times at Headingley Carnegie and once in the final at Wembley in 1999 – the last time Rhinos lifted the trophy – and Leeds are also unbeaten in nine visits to the capital.
But despite the stats pointing to a Leeds victory and a 48-0 win in the bag over Harlequins in the league last month, McClennan is taking nothing for granted.
He said: "They are going through a bit of adversity themselves and I am sure they will take a lot of motivation from the last couple of weeks.
"They are on home ground so we know they are going to be a formidable opponent.
The full article contains 452 words and appears in EP Leeds First & County newspaper.
