Almost five months on from Leeds Rhinos' last competitive game, the big day has arrived. Rohan Smith's team open the season with a trip to Warrington Wolves as the Australian gets his first full campaign underway.
Already, he has issues to contend with. There are four players unavailable who most would have as starters if they were fit. Harry Newman, Nene Macdonald, Mikolaj Oledzki and James Bentley will all miss the game. But it is the fact two centres are missing that has left Smith with a problem he has tried to find a solution to for most of the pre-season.
In four trial games, seven players spent at least some time in the position. One of them, Levi Edwards, has now left. But the remaining six; David Fustiu'a, Ash Handley, Derrell Olpherts, Rhyse Martin, Luis Roberts and Leon Ruan have all been named in the 21-man squad.
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One thing we know by now is that guessing Rohan Smith's thinking is a waste of time. That said, he has perhaps given us some indication of what to expect during the pre-season outings. One thing Smith has confirmed is that Richie Myler will play fullback, something the Australian stated after the Hull KR game.
Given Ash Handley spent the majority of his time at fullback, it seems more likely that he will return to the wing, as any serious thought of playing him centre would have resulted in more minutes there, you would have thought. He did spend extended time there against Hull KR, but alas. Meanwhile, Martin may have played centre under Smith but given Bentley is unavailable, and the number of centre options in the squad, that perhaps does suggest that he's most likely to play in his usual back-row position.
That leaves three spots for the four remaining players. Starting with Roberts, his impressive performances saw him given a starting spot against Hull KR, admittedly on the wing. His centre partner? David Fusitu'a. The Kiwi international was thrown straight into an unfamiliar position in his first outing of the pre-season and Smith spoke fondly of his performance in the role after the KR defeat, suggesting he could well play there round one. As for the other centre position, Smith has made clear from the moment he signed him that he sees Derrell Olpherts as a centre option and he played him there against both Leigh and Wakefield, so a start there seems quite likely. It means Leon Ruan misses out.
There are perhaps two other decisions to make. The first is with the props. Five have been named but only four are likely to be picked. All have played similar minutes and based on nothing more than a gut feeling, Sam Walters will be the one to miss out. The final decision is in the back-row but, after James McDonnell's injury, albeit a minor one, James Donaldson will get the nod over the new Wigan recruit.
Predicted Leeds Rhinos team: Richie Myler, Luis Roberts, David Fusitu'a, Derrell Olpherts, Ash Handley, Blake Austin, Aidan Sezer, Tom Holroyd, Jarrod O'Connor, Zane Tetevano, Rhyse Martin, Morgan Gannon, Cameron Smith. Subs: Kruise Leeming, Sam Lisone, Justin Sangare, James Donaldson
Missing out: James McDonnell, Sam Walters, Liam Tindall, Leon Ruan
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