Leeds Rhinos secure play-off place but Richard Agar insists Hull KR clash is still a must-win

Both teams are guaranteed a place in the play-offs after seventh-placed Castleford Tigers were beaten 40-24 at home by Warrington Wolves last night.

There were some tense moments when Tigers hit back from 32-0 down to cut the gap to just eight points with 17 minutes left.

This evening’s game will now decide which team finishes fifth and visits Wigan Warriors next Friday, with the losers ending the regular season in sixth and travelling to Warrington 24 hours later.

A Castleford win would have secured their place in the top six and Rhinos had been preparing for a do-or-die clash this evening, but Agar stressed last night’s result has not altered their approach.

“It’s not going to be a case of ‘it’s all right now boys, we can go out with a different attitude’,” Agar insisted.

“Far from it, we’ve got to create the right attitude going into this part of the season.

“We actually feel like we are in play-off territory now and the season almost starts again.”

Rhinos are looking to bounce back from their heaviest defeat of the season, a 40-6 hammering at St Helens last Friday.

The Leeds boss added: “We aren’t looking at anything other than getting our best available team on the park and putting in a good performance.

“We got whacked last week so trying to get our best performance out the week before the play-offs is very important.

“We are at home, in front of our fans, for the last time this year and we want to get a good performance out and finish as high up the ladder as we can.”

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