Injury-ravaged Saints to face 'exceptional' Leeds Rhinos

Mar 26 2008 by Ian Laybourn, Liverpool Daily Post

ST HELENS coach Daniel Anderson has compared the current Leeds side to his own all-conquering team of 2006.

The Rhinos head to Knowsley Road for Friday’s Super League Grand Final re-match as hot favourites to repeat their Old Trafford heroics and open up a six-point gap between the two teams at the one-third mark of the season.

Anderson insists his patched-up side will be competitive on Friday but admits the defending champions are in “daunting” mood.

While Saints are reeling from a shock 28-26 defeat at Huddersfield, their third away loss of the season, Leeds have run up 122 points in their last three matches and conceded just six.

“They’re strong all across the club,” said Anderson. “They’ve played about 25 blokes this year and they’ve all looked exceptional Super League standard.

“Most of their senior players are all 26 or 27 and the young blokes take up a sniff of the salary cap, whereas in a couple of years, some of their blokes will be on bigger money and they’re going to have to lose depth.

“But this year they’re like we were in 2006 when our young players were on nothing on the cap and the senior players were in the pomp of their career.”

St Helens will still be without their first-choice front-row as well as captain Paul Sculthorpe.

Nick Fozzard may not play again this year after rupturing his cruciate knee ligament and Sculthorpe is still troubled by a hamstring injury but Jason Cayless and Keiron Cunningham are expected back next month.

“We’ve been inconsistent this year and we’re trying to work out the best solutions but I won’t make a real fair assessment of us until I get Jason Cayless and Keiron Cunningham back,” added Anderson.

“Fozz is gone for a while but, if we can get Jason and Keiron back, it gives us size and experience in the front row.

“Our Grand Final front row has not been together this year and I’ve asked Bryn Hargreaves, James Roby and James Graham to do a mountain of work when they’ve not been expected or conditioned to do it in the past two years.”

Meanwhile, scrum-half Matty Smith, broke a hand playing for the reserves at the weekend.