Leeds Rhinos 'ticking along nicely' says coach Richard Agar ahead of pre-season trip to Featherstone Rovers

Rhinos face Warrington Wolves at Headingley four weeks today in Betfred Super League round one.

They have been in training - with a week off after Christmas - since November 23 and Agar said, so far, things have gone according to plan.

The team boss, whose side continue their pre-season campaign away to dual-registration partner club Featherstone Rovers tomorrow, insisted: “They have been great, I could not ask for any more from them.”

He said: “We are ticking along and everything’s going all right.

“Our training numbers have been good and we’ve not got any major concerns, which is all you can hope for at this stage of the year.”

Full-back Jack Walker, who has not played for more than a year because of a foot injury, could feature away to Bradford Bulls a week tomorrow, leaving only Liam Sutcliffe (knee) on the casualty list.

“We still feel we’ve a lot of training to get under our belts and combinations to work on,” Agar added.

“We’ve had two or three guys down with Covid, which I guess is not too bad in comparison with other clubs and sports.

“So far that has not affected us too much, the players are in good spirits and they are working hard.”

Former assistant-conditioner Richard Hunwicks’ return to the club, as performance director, has been a major change behind the scenes.

“The players have really bought into some of the areas Rich has wanted to focus on and improve,” Agar said.

“I couldn’t praise them enough for what they have done in that area.

“We are fine, ticking along nicely.”

Agar’s hopes of taking his squad for warm weather training were dashed by the continuing pandemic, with the squad instead having to settle for a hike in the snow and rain at Malham Cove in North Yorkshire.

Former Rhinos player and London Broncos coach Danny Ward has spent some time with his old club since Christmas and also took part, along with two other ex-players, Darren Fleary and Colin Maskill.

“It was good for the boys,” Agar said.

“Leeds has a rich history, especially with the Golden Generation, but it was good to get a few guys who weren’t as recent as the ones we see around the club fairly regularly or are still in the game.

“Darren said a few words to the group at the end, which was really good.

“We were really grateful they gave their day up to spend time with us and it was terrific to see them.”

Agar has selected a strong squad, including 14 of his top-20 players, for tomorrow’s game, which will be former Leeds boss Brian McDermott’s first at his new club.

Most of them had a run-out in the Boxing Day win over Wakefield and Rhinos have two more first team matches before round one, at Bradford a week tomorrow and home to Hull in Tom Briscoe’s testimonial seven days after that.

“The plan is to share game time among as many players as we can,” Agar confirmed.

“We’ll trim the squad down for the Hull game and try and get it as strong as we can.

“As far as Bradford’s concerned, we will see how we come out of this week and assess who might need the game time and who we are perfectly happy to save for the week after.”

With neither Matt Prior nor Ash Handley playing tomorrow, Agar was set to confirm two captains - one for each half - after training today.

Support the YEP and become a subscriber today. You'll enjoy unlimited access to the latest on Leeds United, Leeds Rhinos, Castleford Tigers and Wakefield Trinity, as well as other West Yorkshire rugby league clubs. With our sports digital subscription, you'll also see fewer ads, enjoy faster load times and get exclusive content. Click here to subscribe.