St Helens v Leeds - Teams
St Helens host Leeds Rhinos on Friday night in a repeat of last season's Grand Final.
By Phil Jackson
Last Updated: 27/03/08 12:56pm
St Helens host Super League leaders Leeds Rhinos on Friday night in a repeat of last season's Grand Final.
Tony Smith's side ran out 33-6 winners against the Challenge Cup holders on that occasion and have gone from strength to strength since Brian McClennan's appointment at the helm.
They have claimed seven victories out of eight in the league so far this season, opening up a four-point gap over their opponents at the top of the table, and have also taken Saints' place as World Club champions.
Emphatic wins against Harlequins, Bradford and Hull FC followed their shock defeat at Castleford and the secret has been to stay relatively clear of injuries.
Clinton Toopi is a long-term absentee after undergoing shoulder surgery, but Danny McGuire made a successful return at the KC Stadium and prop Kylie Leuluai is also back in the squad after recovering from concussion.
Winger Lee Smith and second rower Carl Ablett have both been ruled out with muscular strains though, so Ryan Hall will take over on the wing and teenage full-back Ben Jones-Bishop has been drafted in as cover.
Contrast
St Helens, in contrast, have had an indifferent start to the season and come into this game on the back of a 28-26 defeat at Huddersfield.
That result was their third loss in eight games and they were also soundly beaten by the Catalans Dragons in Perpignan in mid-April.
They have shown their quality against their title rivals already though with wins against Warrington, Bradford and Wigan, but the Rhinos have proved an altogether different proposition so far this season.
Jon Wilkin escaped a ban despite being found guilty of a trip during the defeat to the Giants and New Zealand Test prop Jason Cayless is poised to make his first appearance since October's Grand Final after overcoming knee surgery.
Bryn Hargreaves is also back in contention after missing Monday's defeat at Huddersfield with a thumb injury, but there is no place for young Steven Tyrer.
Influential stars Nick Fozzard and Paul Sculthorpe are still sidelined though as Saints go in search of revenge against the Rhinos at Knowsley Road.
Just to add an extra bit of spice, it is also a case of master versus apprentice between the coaches as McClennan used to be Daniel Anderson's assistant for New Zealand in 2004 before taking over from the Saints coach at the Kiwi helm.
St Helens squad: Wellens, Gardner, Gidley, Talau, Meli, Pryce, Long, Cayless, Gilmour, Wilkin, Roby, Bennett, Flannery, Graham, Hargreaves, Clough, Fa'asavalu, Eastmond, Frodsham
Leeds squad: Webb, Donald, Senior, McGuire, Burrow, Leuluai, Diskin, Peacock, Jones-Buchanan, Ellis, Sinfield, Lauitiiti, Bailey, Scruton, Tansey, Hall, Burgess, Worrall, Jones-Bishop
Referee: A Klein (London)