Joey Leilua poised to make Featherstone Rovers debut against Leigh Centurions

It is only the second round of the Betfred Championship, but the showdown between the division’s strongest squads could have a major bearing on who finishes top of the table.

Leilua, who joined Rovers after being released by West Tigers, was named in the initial squad for last Monday’s victory at York City Knights, but not selected for the matchday 17.

Coach Brian McDermott said: “I never wanted him to play in the first game, but we were going to give him a chance.

“He has had a bit of a peculiar off-season, when he had a boxing match which he trained really hard for right up until December.

“He needed a break, there was no way he could have trained right through and been ready for us. We need him to be ready for the end of the year, to be on fire then.”

Fellow signing Adam Cuthbertson, who missed last week’s game through illness, is also in contention and Dane Chisholm and Brett Ferres could feature, but Jesse Sene-Lefao is ruled out after suffering a dislocated shoulder against York.

Leigh also got off to a winning start and McDermott warned: “It’s going to be a big game, they are a good team.

“They laid a marker down last week against Whitehaven, who had a brilliant finish to the season.

“They are no slouches so that has set the tone already. I think it’s just a case of making sure we don’t take 65 minutes to implement some stuff. We traded punches with York for way too long and credit to York, they more than matched us.”

Rovers are expecting a bumper crowd and McDermott has appealed to their fans to provide the same sort of backing they did at York.

McDermott said: “They do bring a level of expectancy, especially the away fans.

“They do get behind the players.

“There were a couple of moments [last week] when it was tough and we came up with the goods. That’s in no small part to do with the fans and how vocal they are.”