St Helens v Leeds Rhinos: Justin Holbrook keen for his troops to slow down Dave Furner’s men

Rhinos hit their stride last week, running in eight tries in a 46-14 win at Salford Red Devils. That was Leeds’ first victory of the season and Saints coach Justin Holbrook reckons it will have boosted the visitors’ confidence.

“We don’t want to give them the freedom to play,” Holbrook stated. “We want to be on our game defensively and slow their quick style of play down, as well as execute our own plays in attack.”

The Saints coach warned: “The Rhinos will come with confidence after their win over Salford. They had a bit of a slow start, but that’s to be expected when you have a new coach and new players.

“They will, of course, get better over time as their new guys gel together. They have recruited well from the NRL, with Trent Merrin and Konrad Hurrell, to add to some of the dangerous guys they already have in their team like Jack Walker.

“I am happy how we have started the season and we want to continue that this week against a tough opponent, who generally plays well at our stadium.

“We will need to be on our game, as always against them, to get the two points.”

Saints have not played since a last-gasp win at Wakefield Trinity 12 days ago.

They were among the teams who were inactive last weekend due to the World Club Challenge, but did take part in a training session with NRL champions Sydney Roosters.

Holbrook said: “The break is probably not ideal after round two, but it’s forced on us so we have to just get on with it.

“We have trained as normal and we have benefitted from the Roosters session which gave some our young players a great experience of being able to train against an NRL team.”