Boss Brad Arthur admits he faced some tough selection decisions ahead of tonight’s (Friday) game at St Helens.

Centre Jack Bird will return after a one-week concussion layoff and hooker Danny Levi is due to take a place on the bench following five matches on the sidelines with neck damage. That means two players dropping out from the side which scored 12 tries in a 66-16 victory at York Knights five days ago.

Arthur praised the rookies who have stepped up during a recent spate of injuries and insisted they still have a role to play. He stressed: “When guys get an opportunity they have to come in and do their job.

“They have done that and that’s great. It is going to take every single player in our squad to help us get as far as we can. They might get kicked out on the back of a good game, but that’s footy. It is what it is, we’ve got a healthy, strong squad and it’s nice to get some players back.”

Jarrod O'Connor will make his 150th appearance for Leeds Rhinos in Friday's game at St Helens. Picture by Alex Whitehead/SWpix.com.

placeholder image — Jarrod O'Connor will make his 150th appearance for Leeds Rhinos in Friday's game at St Helens. Picture by Alex Whitehead/SWpix.com.

Academy products including Riley Lumb, who scored a hat-trick last weekend, George Brown, Ben Littlewood, Ned McCormack, Fergus McCormack and Zak Lloyd have been drafted in from the reserves this year to cover for injuries and Arthur added: “They have proved the value of our squad and the coaching from our pathways, particularly Chev [Walker, Rhinos’ transition-coach] who is getting the guys ready so they can step up and do their job.

“It can be a tough job at times, working with those guys and keeping them motivated for when their opportunity comes. They have come in and done their job and the biggest part of their job is not just what they do on game day for us, it’s how they help us prepare during the week with our opposed sessions.

“Those guys have done a great job, but not everyone can be in the 17 every week. They get it and they understand; they would rather be in the team, but when they get their chance, make the most of it.”

Leeds Rhinos winger Ryan Hall is two touchdowns away from becoming the joint-17th highest try scorer in the British game. Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWpix.com.

Jarrod O’Connor is poised to make his 150th Rhinos appearance in tonight’s game, which will be refereed by Marcus Griffiths and shown live on Sky Sports. Australian signing Matt Lodge’s second game for Leeds will be the 150th of his career and Ryan Hall needs two tries to reach 358, drawing level with Neil Fox in 17th place on the British game’s list of all-time scorers.

Jonny Lomax is set to replace suspended scrum-half Jackson Hastings in Saints’ 17 and forward David Klemmer comes back into contention after a rib injury suffered at last month’s Magic Weekend. Their former Leeds centre Nene Macdonald needs one try to reach a career century.

St Helens: from Welsby, Robertson, Percival, Cross, Sailor, Lomax, Walmsley, Wright, Klemmer, Host, Shorrocks, Macdonald, Douglas, Davies, Humphreys, Marsh, Suluka-Fifita, Keeley, Evans, Matagi, Campbell.

Leeds Rhinos: from Miller, Newman, Handley, Hall, Croft, Connor, Oledzki, O’Connor, Holroyd, Watkins, Hankinson, Jenkins, Smith, Cassell, Riley Lumb, Levi, Nicholson-Watton, F McCormack, Lloyd, Lodge, Bird.

Referee: Aaron Moore (Wigan). Kick-off: Today (Friday), 8pm.