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Aaron Bower

Leeds Rhinos squad gives Richard Agar healthy selection dilemmas for new season

There is still a trip to Hunslet to come next weekend, but for the majority of Leeds Rhinos' first-team squad, the hard work of pre-season training is drawing to a close - as is the chance to catch the eye of head coach Richard Agar.

With the season opener against Warrington Wolves now under a fortnight away, the Rhinos' major tests in pre-season against Wakefield Trinity, Bradford Bulls and Hull FC have passed with a great deal of success, both in terms of results and performances.

Naturally, you can never read too much into what happens on the field during pre-season friendlies, but they do offer some level of insight into how a team could fare in the Super League season ahead. For Agar, who was forced to watch Sunday's win against Hull from home after testing positive for Covid-19, there is plenty of food for thought.

Large chunks of Agar's reign in charge have seen the Leeds coach reduced to the bare bones in terms of selection thanks to injuries, suspensions and Covid outbreaks. But for once, Agar looks set to be presented with a series of more welcome selection headaches. There will be some disappointed players when he names his team for round one.

A large reason for that is the crop of young players who have made their mark on the squad during those difficult periods. Agar had consistently preached that while there was short-term pain for Leeds with so many key players absent last year, there would be immense long-term rewards to come.

That looks to be the case after this pre-season, with players such as Morgan Gannon and Jarrod O'Connor ready to step in and make their mark. When you consider that established senior players like Tom Briscoe and Alex Mellor have dropped down in terms of their squad number this year too, suddenly, the task of picking the strongest Leeds 17 becomes a difficult one.

Who starts at fullback in the opening round looks to be a straightforward decision after the pre-season form of Richie Myler, who looks more than capable of holding the returning Jack Walker at bay in the early rounds despite Walker now being back to full fitness and having two pre-season games under his belt.

The rest of Leeds' spine is settled, with Aidan Sezer and Blake Austin certain to start if they are both fit, and while there are concerns over the fitness of Harry Newman after a hamstring injury he suffered on Sunday, the fact players like Briscoe, Mellor and several others could step in and deputise underlines the strength they have at their disposal.

Throw in the depth in Leeds' pack and it's suddenly a fascinating task trying to whittle the Rhinos' squad down to just 17 players for that first game. Agar could probably count on one hand the number of times he's had a selection dilemma as great as this.

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