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Leeds v Warrington: Three Super League head to heads

Watch the match live on Sky Sports Arena from 7.30pm on Friday

Joel Moon of Leeds is tackled by Daryl Clark and Mike Cooper of Warrington
Image: Leeds and Warrington will lock horns again at Headingley on Friday

As Super League hots up, there's another big battle at the top on Friday night with Leeds taking on Warrington at Headingley, live on Sky Sports Arena.

The match pits the fifth-placed Rhinos against the third-placed-Wolves. So who will come out on top?

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Here's three head to heads that might decide it:

Tom Briscoe v Josh Charnley

Tom Briscoe of Leeds Rhinos
Image: Tom Briscoe has scored four tries for Leeds so far this season

Will this season be the last we see of Tom Briscoe in the blue and amber? He's out of contract at the end of the campaign and Gary Hetherington has already admitted there may be changes in the squad for 2019.

Briscoe is into his fifth year with the Rhinos and has made over 100 appearances. There have been ups and downs in that time. Remember the five-try Wembley salvo and subsequent Lance Todd trophy, and also a double in last year's Grand Final? But there is also the 2014 play-off shocker against Catalans and the Challenge Cup semi-final against Hull FC last season where his former club bombarded him with high balls.

The England international has four tries this season and over 1,000 metres from his 161 carries. Together with Ryan Hall, Leeds possess two of Super League's most experienced wingers and two of the best finishers. Will Briscoe be rewarded with a new deal?

Warrington's Josh Charnley fends off Salford's Derrell Olpherts
Image: Josh Charnley has made a major impact since joining Warrington

What a start Josh Charnley has made in a Warrington shirt. After a spell in the wilderness in rugby union, the winger has come back to Super League with a point to prove. And he is certainly doing so.

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Charnley now has 10 tries in six games since his return, a move that has coincided with a terrific spell of form for the Wolves. He grabbed a hat-trick in the thrashing of Huddersfield and also four against Bradford in the Challenge Cup.

Charnley is already only two behind Tom Lineham in Warrington's Super League scoring charts, showing what made him such a hot property in the first place - he is a natural finisher.

Charnley carries well - 543 metres from his 72 carries at an average of 7.54m a drive. There are already nine clean breaks and 16 tackle busts too. A blistering start to life as a Warrington player then, but will his and his side's form continue this Friday?

Richie Myler v Tyrone Roberts

Richie Myler of Leeds Rhinos
Image: Richie Myler has assisted on 16 tries already this term

Richie Myler has been proving people wrong all season and he will have another point to make this Friday. Myler forged a successful career with Warrington before his move to Catalans, although a Super League trophy eluded him and the Wolves.

Questions over his ability to influence big games have been raised in the past, but he has shone for Leeds so far. Replacing Danny McGuire as the key cog of the attack was never going to be easy, but Myler has starred as creator-in-chief.

He has got 16 try assists to his name, 10 more than any other team-mate and only one behind Super League's stand-out player, Ben Barba. Myler's 80 attacking kicks are 57 more than half-back partner Joel Moon, proving just how influential he has been this campaign. Will Myler get one over his former club this Friday?

Warrington half-back Tyrone Roberts
Image: Tyrone Roberts is starting to click with Kevin Brown

It has taken time for Tyrone Roberts to get used to the English game. He was the off-season's marquee signing, the one that attracted the most attention and the one designed to lift the Wolves out of the mire of 2017.

It did not go to plan to start with. Under new coach Steve Price, they lost four of their opening six games, leaving questions over whether anything had actually changed. But the Wolves have reeled off seven straight wins since, putting themselves in contention at the top.

Roberts' partnership with Kevin Brown is starting to click. They did not have much of a pre-season to settle together, with Brown having featured heavily at the World Cup. But they are becoming instrumental in a side hitting their straps.

Roberts has two try assists and a try to his name, while Brown has five assists and a try too. The attacking kicks are shared around, with both players capable of pushing the side around the park. With the summer rolling in, and Roberts now settling in Super League, expect to see the Australian's form picking up.

Matt Parcell v Daryl Clark

Matt Parcell of Leeds Rhinos
Image: Matt Parcell has featured in 11 of the 12 Rhinos' games this season

One of Super League's best hookers, Matt Parcell has not found it quite as easy in 2018 as he did in 2017. Unusually for a No 9, he racked up the tries last season, finishing as the Rhinos' top scorer with 17. He was also the club's top tackler with over 1,000 hits and provided the second most try assists with 16.

The numbers are not as good this time around. Two tries, one try assist and third on the tackles count with 378. He has featured in 11 of the 12 Super League games this season, also appearing in the World Club Challenge. Parcell is still a massive threat from the ruck. He averages 8.14 metres a drive from his 92 carries, 81 of which have been runs from dummy-half. That is the third most in Super League.

His link-up with Adam Cuthbertson was so influential last season and Parcell, like the Rhinos, certainly missed the forward after he missed two months of this campaign with injury. Now Cuthbertson is back in the side, will we see the best of Parcell again?

Daryl Clark of Warrington Wolves
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Image: Daryl Clark is making his mark from dummy-half for the Wolves .

Meanwhile, are we seeing the best of Daryl Clark again this season? A difficult 2017 for the Wolves led to the hooker missing out on a World Cup spot, but there is plenty for Wayne Bennett to be impressed with this time around. He has gone past 100 appearances for the club since signing from Castleford where he won the Man of Steel award.

Clark is, predictably, starring when running from dummy-half. He is such a threat with ball in hand, making 1,358 metres so far from his 141 carries, an average gain of 9.63m a drive. That is the best average of any Warrington player and in the top 10 of the entire competition. Ninety-eight of his carries have been runs from dummy-half, that is 12 more than any other player, with James Roby the next most.

Clark does not shirk his defensive responsibilities either; indeed he is the club's top tackler with 528 hits, over 100 more than the next best, Chris Hill. And again, he is the top performer in that regard in Super League. Clark hitting his numbers then, but will he be able to sustain his form for the rest of 2018?

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