Richard Agar taking the strategic approach to Leeds Rhinos’ play-off push

Agar will field a strong side at home to Castleford Tigers tonight, three days after an inexperienced team were beaten 40-8 at St Helens.

Rhinos, who are fifth in the Betfred Super League table, face successive derbies against Wakefield Trinity on Thursday and Sunday, followed by a return meeting with Tigers the following Friday.

Last week was Leeds’ third defeat – all when most of their senior players were rested – in four league matches and Rhinos have a mountain to climb to finish in the top-four and qualify for the semi-finals.

But Agar insisted they will “give it everything we’ve got” as they bid to complete a Cup and league double which seemed unlikely, if not impossible, at the start of the year.

Sixteen of Leeds’ Cup-winning line-up are included in Agar’s initial 21-man squad for this evening’s derby and he insisted squad rotation gives them their best chance of breaking back into the top-four.

“Had I played the team that played at Wembley on Friday night, off a big week and an emotional game, I’d be putting blokes out there who hadn’t had sufficient recovery,” Agar stated.

“We were carrying injuries – Luke Gale and Richie Myler couldn’t have played and if Rob Lui had played he would not be able to back up [tonight].

“Matt Prior and Ava Seumanufagai were doubts as well and I know sending those boys to Saints would have flattened them off for the week ahead.

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“We knew we had to put an inexperienced team out again to get the whole group ready for the next three to four games, because we don’t feel we have much margin for error in that.”

Four wins from the upcoming derbies would leave Rhinos facing a possible win-or-bust showdown with Wigan Warriors in their final game of the regular season and Agar said Rhinos are playing knockout rugby before any of their rivals.

“We felt we needed our guys as physically and mentally ready for the next four games as they possibly could be,” he stressed.

“A lot of the players who played on Friday night didn’t play at Wembley and they will be suitably ready to go by Thursday on a six-day turnaround. We have tried to do it strategically and create a mindset that we are going to be in sudden death before anyone else.

“Our boys have bought in, they know where we are and the challenge in front of them.

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“They know they aren’t going to get a lot of training in, we’re not going to get the usual preview and two sessions leading into a game.

“We are going to have to turn up and play on limited training and limited preview and review, but we know where it’s at and we are ready to go.

“We are looking forward to the challenge.”

Agar added: “We know it is going to be tough, but we think at the end of it, if we can navigate it and put ourselves in with a shot, it will be an unbelievable achievement.

“We are absolutely ready for it.

“We know what it is going to take, but we are going to give it everything we’ve got.”

Agar said he hasn’t yet decided his team to face Wakefield later this week.

“We can’t predict that, it is week by week,” he said.

“What we are going to try and do is not back players up as much as we can and try and share out the workload.

“We think we have got a good enough squad to do that.

“I absolutely can’t predict what my side is going to be on Thursday or Sunday until we get through [tonight’s] game and see how we come out of it.

“We have got to beat Cas and that won’t be easy.”

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