Leeds Rhinos captain Stevie Ward on the mend after head knock

Skipper Stevie Ward has consulted a specialist over the concussion which has kept him out of Leeds Rhinos' squad for almost two weeks.
Stevie Ward in action against Hull. Picture by Tony Johnson.Stevie Ward in action against Hull. Picture by Tony Johnson.
Stevie Ward in action against Hull. Picture by Tony Johnson.

Ward was injured in Rhinos’ opening game of the season against Hull on February 2 and would have missed last Sunday’s fixture at Huddersfield Giants, which was postponed due to Storm Ciara.

Rhinos coach Richard Agar had hoped Ward would recover in time to face Hull KR at Emerald Headingley on Friday, but he has again been ruled out.

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“He failed his protocol so he saw a concussion specialist the other night,” Agar reported.

It has been a "challenging" week for Rhinos coach Richard Agar (left, with assistant Chev Walker) and his staff.It has been a "challenging" week for Rhinos coach Richard Agar (left, with assistant Chev Walker) and his staff.
It has been a "challenging" week for Rhinos coach Richard Agar (left, with assistant Chev Walker) and his staff.

“They are pretty comfortable where he’s at at the moment.

“We’d expect him to start his return to play procedures on Monday, so he will sit this one out.

“It is a concern it has taken him a while to get over it and he is still feeling some adverse effects.

“It needs a lot of care around these situations and it is important we follow that and make sure he is starting to feel better, which he is.

“He is hoping to play against Salford next week.”

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Ava Seumanufagai will return to the 17 tonight in place of Ward in what could be the only change from the side beaten by Hull.

Meanwhile, flooding at Rhinos’ Kirkstall base made training this week a “challenge”, but Agar said preparations for tonight’s Betfred Super League round three clash have gone well.

“It has been challenging, but we are no different to other teams,” Agar said.

“It is well-documented that Kirkstall got flooded again and our all-weather pitch was under water, as well as the grass pitches.

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“But we’ve not made an issue of it, we’ve simply got on with it.

“Most teams at this time of year will face a bit of adversity around that.

“We managed to get up at Weetwood and use their facilities up there, which are first class.

“They look after us extremely well. The weather’s been interesting for a couple of our overseas guys, training in the wind and the hail, but we managed to get done what we wanted to.

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“There’s been a bit of disruption, but nothing we couldn’t handle.”

Rovers beat Wakefield Trinity in round one and pushed Hull close last week.

“They played pretty well against Wakefield and for long periods against Hull too,” Agar said.

“They use the ball really well and very much play to their strengths.

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“They will ask questions of your defence, for sure, so making sure we have our share of possession and the right field position is important.

“They are a team that are very willing to chance their arm and spray the ball about a fair bit.”

Rhinos need to be much better than they were against Hull, Agar admitted.

He said: “We haven’t had a game since then.

“It gives us a bit longer prep’ into the game which has probably helped, in terms of having a look at Hull KR and the amount of practice we can get done.

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“For us, it is just learning lessons and learning from last time out.

“We know we need an improvement and the areas we need to be better in.

“It is a case of doing it better, for longer. We started against Hull in good fashion and we have to string a full-80 together.”