Leeds Rhinos trio in race to be fit for derby with Wakefield Trinity

Rhinos picked up their first win in three games with a 50-12 demolition of Salford Red Devils yesterday, but were left nursing their wounds with only a short turnaround to this week’s game at Emerald Headingley.

Konrad Hurrell missed Saturday’s match because of a hamstring problem and joined Jack Walker, Alex Mellor, Stevie Ward, Dom Crosby, Cameron Smith and James Donaldson on the sidelines.

Adam Cuthbertson suffered a back injury in the second half of the win at Warrington and Harry Newman (hamstring) and Richie Myler were other concerns – though Agar is hopeful all three could be passed fit.

“It was a back spasm, he is all right,” Agar said of Cuthbertson.

“Harry was cramping up in his hamstring so hopefully there’s no real strain.

“That was precautionary, we didn’t want to leave him out there and he’s got his team-mates yelling at him to take carries and he gets in and takes a carry and all of a sudden he pings his hamstring.

“With Konrad, we didn’t want to take any risks, but at the same time, Liam Sutcliffe played really well [in the previous game] and is fit and fresh.

“That wasn’t too much of a tough decision for us.”

Agar added: “Richie took a heavy knock on the last play of the game, saving a try, he got a bang in the ribs.

“Touch wood there’s nothing too major.”

Walker could be available this week, but Myler – his stand-in at full-back – scored a hat-trick on his return from a two-game injury layoff.

Rob Lui was also back in the side following a similar absence and Agar said: “We’ve had two really experienced players come back in.

“It is really noticeable from the sideline, with no crowd in, the amount of talk Richie puts into the team.

“He is a great pair of eyes for our six and seven in how we get around the field.

“I think he has done a really good job as a full-back.

“I know he had a little blip where he got his timing wrong for a try, but he also saved us a couple too and his talk, both on attack and defence, gave a lot of value to our team.

“He is smart, he’s durable and he has attacked his utility role with us in a magnificent way.

“He made a big difference to our team.”

Lui scored a touchdown, set one up and made a vital try-saving tackle against his former club.

“I think Rob has still got a bit to do physically,” Agar said.

“He is not where we’d actually like him to be at this moment in time.

“A couple of knocks he’s had have kept him off his feet a bit so he has still got a little bit of work to do, but Rob’s a vastly experienced player - Richie too.

“The experience, talk and understanding of what we needed to execute was great.

“We set ourselves a better foundation and found a better formula on which to play.

“It enabled our spine to take a lot more control than in previous weeks.”

Salford had a disrupted build-up due to players isolating following the coronavirus cases at their previous opponents Hull and Agar wasn’t getting carried away with the result.

“We don’t think we are entirely where we need to be at the moment,” Agar stressed.

“I am in acknowledgement of Salford’s situation too, it would have been a difficult preparation for them, compounded by losing Ken Sio and then Chris Atkin as well.

“That would have taken a fair bit out of them, but concentrating on our fellas, we certainly made some improvements.”

He stressed: “The penny dropped about the errors, I thought we played very controlled in the first half and found a good formula.

“In the second half we had a couple of back-to-back errors and you can see how quickly the momentum swings and the pressure it puts on your defence.

“But there were some improvements in our contacts and our discipline - one penalty, in the last five minutes of the game.

“There was certainly improvement in our marker work, so really basic things in there that when you throw them all together can roll up into a better performance.

“And we feel if we get enough of the ball we have got some points in us.

“It’s about giving yourself a platform.”

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