Leeds Rhinos name strong squad for pre-season derby at Castleford Tigers
Leeds Rhinos coach Brian McDermott has named his strongest-available squad for Sunday's pre-season derby at Castleford Tigers.
Rhinos’ 20 includes 13 members of the side which beat Tigers at Old Trafford in October.
All three new faces are set to take part, with Richie Myler at half-back and Nathaniel Peteru and Brad Dwyer among the substitutes.
Brett Delaney, who missed the Grand Final due to a hamstring injury, is also on the bench along with Ashton Golding, Jimmy Keinhorst and Jack Ormondroyd.
The players missing from the Old Trafford team are Danny McGuire and Rob Burrow - who no longer play for the club - plus Brett Ferres (knee) and Stevie Ward (shoulder), who will not feature as they recover from closed-season surgery.
Kallum Watkins - who is included alongside fellow England World Cup finalist Ryan Hall - will captain the side for the first time since being named skipper for 2018 earlier this week.
Adam Cuthbertson, who underwent surgery on a knee injury suffered in the title decider, will start at loose-forward.
Rhinos’ side is: Jack Walker, Tom Briscoe, Kallum Watkins, Liam Sutcliffe, Ryan Hall, Joel Moon, Richie Myler, Mitch Garbutt, Matt Parcell, Brad Singleton, Jamie Jones-Buchanan, Carl Ablett, Adam Cuthbertson. Subs Brett Delaney, Anthony Mullally, Brad Dwyer, Ashton Golding, Jimmy Keinhorst, Nathaniel Peteru, Jack Ormondroyd.