Rival Leeds Rhinos and Hull KR coaches take contrasting approaches to team selection

Agar will select from the 17 who played in last Friday’s 48-18 Coral Challenge Cup quarter-final win, plus Brett Ferres, who was Cup-tied, Adam Cuthbertson and teenage forwards Jarrod O’Connor and Sam Walters.

“It won’t be too different,” Agar said of this afternoon’s line-up. “How we use our bench may be different. We decided last week to take Callum McLelland as a back-up for Kruise Leeming and Luke [Briscoe] for his versatility.

“We’ve got Liam Sutcliffe who is very versatile in the backs and forwards and Ash Handley and Richie Myler who can dot about, so we were comfortable with taking a back [among the substitutes] and we managed our middle rotation okay.

“Cuthbo will be back in contention after missing out late last week and throw Jarrod O’Connor in, there’s six blokes for four bench spots. We will have a good look at their team, the weather conditions and see how we are travelling internally before we make the final call on a couple of spots on the bench.”

Rovers - officially the home side, though the game will be played behind closed doors at Warrington - will be much-changed. Will Dagger, Matty Storton and Ethan Ryan are injured and Greg Minikin, Weller Hauraki, George Lawler and Dean Hadley also drop out.

Utility-back Will Tate could make his debut and former Rhinos Elliot Minchella, Jimmy Keinhorst, Mitch Garbutt and Nick Rawsthorne are in contention, alongside Ryan Brierley, Harvey Livett, Joe Keyes, Kyle Trout, Owen Harrison and Will Maher.

Hull KR: from Murray, Minchella, Livett, Ellis, Litten, Keinhorst, Keyes, Linnett, Trout, Gee, Parcell, Lewis, Garbutt, Peteru, Rawsthorne, Harrison, Mulhern, Brierley, Kenny-Dowall, Maher, Tate.

Leeds Rhinos: from T Briscoe, Newman, Handley, Lui, Gale, Seumanufagai, Leeming, Prior, Mellor, Martin, L Sutcliffe, Myler, Cuthbertson, Oledzki, McLelland, L Briscoe, Donaldson, Walters, Holroyd, O’Connor, Ferres.

Referee: Jack Smith (Warrington).

Kick-off: Today, 2.45pm.

Venue: HJ Stadium, Warrington.

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