Las Vegas clash v world champs Hull KR is chance to 'put our own skill on display says Leeds Rhinos ace

The Robins go into the Betfred Super League showdown at Allegiant Stadium on the back of last Thursday’s thrilling 30-24 conquering of Brisbane Broncos which means they now hold all four available trophies. Leeds forward Keenan Palasia was among the crowd at MKM Stadium that night and feels Rovers’ win “added fuel to the fire” for this weekend’s historic meeting.

“They got the treble last year and now they are the world champs,” Palasia told The Yorkshire Evening Post. “Now we get our shot at them and we get it early too, so we get to see where we are at this point in the competition. Hopefully we can put some points on them.”

While Saturday’s game is worth two points, just like the other 26 rounds, it will be played in front of a new audience as the opening part of a treble-header which also includes two NRL first round fixtures, Newcastle Knights v North Queensland Cowboys and Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs against St. George Illawarra Dragons.

Rhinos fans are already arriving in Vegas and Palasia admitted there is a match feeling about the build-up, but stressed: “Every single game is important to us, we want to win everything. It showed [last Friday] against York where we got away from them a bit early in the game and we tried to show our professionalism and show how good our defence is and that we can put points on anyone.”

In his press conference following that win – which saw Maika Sivo make his long-awaited return from injury – coach Brad Arthur was clearly disappointed with the three tries Rhinos conceded and admitted their defence isn’t where it needs to be at this stage of the season. Palasia said: “Any player would rather their coach be hard on us than easy on us. He and we are striving for perfection and hopefully we can fall somewhere near that against Hull KR.”

On a personal note, Palasia was relieved to get some competitive rugby under his belt before the trip to the States. A knee injury in pre-season kept him out of Leeds’ opening two matches, but he returned off the bench in the first half against York and is in the 21-man squad for this weekend. He confirmed: “I got through all right and it was nice to get a few minutes under my belt.

“It was an old injury so we didn’t have a set return date. It’s something from long ago, every now and then I get a little niggle so I have to look after that and stay on top of my rehab and prehab. It was a case of getting through as much as I can, get a needle in it and rehab it from there, but it has come up pretty good. I built into that game and hopefully this week I’ll come in flying.

“I am a rugby league player, not an athlete, so I just have to get out there and run hard, tackle hard and not get tired. Having that 40 minutes under my belt, I think it will help. Brad simplified my job for me - get out there, hit to hurt and run to bust. I just had to do that and change the game and our momentum.”

The week in America is also an opportunity for the players to spend extra time together, which Palasia reckons is always valuable. He added: “I am excited. We had a camp in Tenerife when we got to hang out with each other and then when it’s time to work, we work. It is going to be similar to that and we get to play the world champs and put our own skill on display.”

The Yorkshire Evening Post’s coverage of Leeds Rhinos in Las Vegas is in association with Betfred Super League. Saturday’s showdown between Rhinos and Hull KR at Allegiant Stadium is an early highlight of a packed year of club rugby league action which also includes the Challenge Cup final at Wembley on May 30, Magic Weekend’s blockbuster return to Everton FC’s Hill Dickinson Stadium on July 4-5 and the Super League Grand Final on October 3 at Old Trafford. Experience live Super League. League Hits Different. To guarantee your place, visit Super League | Tickets