Leeds Rhinos coach Brad Arthur reveals major selection decision for Warrington Wolves 4-pointer
Leeds Rhinos boss Brad Arthur has confirmed his choice at right-centre for Thursday’s huge four-pointer against Warrington Wolves.
Jack Bird is now fit and available following a four-game layoff, but - speaking at his weekly preview press conference today (Tuesday) - Arthur said Harry Newman will retain the role. Newman played in this year’s opening seven matches before losing his place to Bird and having a spell on loan at Hull FC.
Newman returned when Bird, an early-season signing from Australian club Wests Tigers, underwent knee surgery last month and has scored five tries in his last three appearances. Both men are in Rhinos’ initial 21-man squad for Thursday’s visit to Warrington Wolves, but Arthur insisted Newman will stay in the team for as long as he is fit and playing well.
“Birdy’s fit and ready, he is just waiting for his opportunity,” Arthur revealed. “Harry is playing [on Thursday]; Birdy is going to have to wait for his opportunity and when he gets his opportunity, make the most of it.
“At the moment the guys are putting pressure on me to come up with tough decisions. The guys that are in the team know they’ve got to continue to play well because there are guys who want to be in the team.”
Of Bird, the coach stressed: “The only thing the guys can control is their attitude towards it. They have no say in team selection, only around their choices and how they respond to it. That plays a big part in my motivation of whether I want to put them back in the team or not.”
Newman and his winger Ryan Hall could have a busy night in defence this week after Toulouse Olympique scored four tries through their edge last weekend. Of those lapses, Arthur reflected: “The first one in the second half, they put a poor kick in and got a lucky bounce, it all went from there and we got caught out for numbers.
“Our reaction needed to be a touch better there and we just got two scrum plays wrong defensively. We just need to trust and stick to the system and the system will look after them. We didn’t do that, we’ve talked about it and I am sure at some stage Warrington will test us there, so we’ll see if we’ve learned from it.”
Another player waiting to make his comeback is prop Tom Holroyd, who has missed three games because of a back problem. He is in the 21 for Thursday, but Arthur said: “Tom has only had the one real strong [training] session. He will get another one today and we just thought probably another week will do him the world of good.”
Meanwhile, Arthur says a decision has yet to be made on whether 38-year-old Hall will play on in 2027. “We’re not sure at the moment,” he stated. “We are just seeing how he goes, we’ll get close to the end of the season and see where he’s at with his body. He will know what he needs to do.”