Why Leeds Rhinos' top-6 hopes are boosted by Hull KR v Leigh Cup final as fans face Wembley dilemma

Saints are on the back of a narrow Betfred Challenge Cup semi-final loss to Leigh Leopards last Saturday, while Rhinos will have had two weeks to dwell on their costly golden-point extra-time loss to Hull KR. Here are five talking points.

1: The Hull KR versus Leigh Challenge Cup final is ideal for Rhinos.

Both teams will probably feel the Cup is their best chance of silverware, which could help Leeds.

Leigh don’t have an academy or reserve side so options for resting players will be limited when they visit Headingley six days before Wembley, but it should be a good time to play them - though that was supposedly the case with Hull KR a week before their semi-final.

Rhinos are chasing sixth place on the table, currently held by the Robins. Whether Hull KR can fight on two fronts remains to be seen, but teams’ league performances sometimes drop or before or after Wembley. Rhinos have to be ready to take advantage if that happens.

2: Friday’s opponents Saints will be backing up six days after a tough semi-final defeat by Leigh.

A well-rested Rhinos side might be able to exploit that, but all Saints’ eggs are now in one basket and they are likely to come out firing.

It is a coach and player’s most well-used cliche, but Rhinos really can only focus on themselves.

They have had two weeks to prepare so should be relatively fresh and have most of their first-choice players available.

If they play well, they know they are good enough to beat Saints. But they have to be smarter than they were against Hull KR and more clinical.

The win at Salford Red Devils three weeks ago means Rhinos are still in the top-six hunt, but they can’t afford many more slip ups so the next two games before the Wembley break are crucial.

3: Having been the first female to referee at Wembley, in the schoolboys’ curtain-raiser five years ago, Leeds Rhinos centre Caitlin Beevers will make more history there in next month’s Betfred Women’s Challenge Cup final.

Opponents St Helens will probably be narrow favourites, having won 38-18 when the sides met in a Super League game at Headingley in May, but Rhinos are in good form after a shaky start to the year.

The retirement of inspirational captain Courtney Winfield-Hill at the end of last season was compounded by the loss of Fran Goldthorp and Georgia Roche to Australia’s NRLW - along with star signing Georgia Hale - and a succession of long-term injuries.

A new-look side lost two of their opening three Super League matches, but Rhinos are on a five-game unbeaten run and the try Wigan scored in last week’s Challenge Cup semi-final was the only points Leeds have conceded in four ties in this year’s competition.

Rhinos have maintained their record of reaching at least one major final every season since their debut in 2018 and a Wembley appearance is a fitting reward for the work done by Lois Forsell - who will be the first woman to coach a side there - since she succeeded Adam Cuthbertson at the end of 2019.

4: Rhinos were right to appeal against the two-match bans handed to Keara Bennett and Kaiya Glynn after they were charged with a grade D dangerous throw in a 12-12 Women’s Super League draw at York Valkyrie.

Because the same grading and punishment applies, the system is weighted against female players, who have a 10-game regular Super League season, compared to 27 for the men. So in league terms, a man banned for two games misses 7.41 per cent of his side’s fixtures - but the same suspension is 20 per cent in the women’s competition.

Bans also have more impact as women’s sides tend to carry smaller squads, so it’s something the RFL should address.

5: The women’s final means Rhinos will have a presence at Wembley this year, but there’s also past and present Leeds interest in both men’s showpieces.

The Batley Bulldogs side who won at York Knights in last Sunday’s 1895 Cup semi-final included dual-registered Rhinos full-back Luke Hooley, alongside Leeds academy products Ben White, Dane Manning and Nyle Flynn.

If he recovers from injury, Hull KR’s Ryan Hall (2014 Lance Todd winner and four Wembley tries for Leeds) could line up in the Challenge Cup decider opposite Leigh Leopards’ Tom Briscoe (2015 Lance Todd winner and seven Wembley tries for Leeds).

Leigh’s squad also includes Zak Hardaker, who won the Cup with Leeds in 2014 and 2015, while ex-Rhinos Elliot Minchella, Matt Parcell and Jimmy Keinorst were in the Robins’ semi-final 17 and Brett Delaney and Danny McGuire are assistant-coaches.

Who to support will be a dilemma for Rhinos fans, but one older supporters can resolve in two words: Alex Murphy.