Leeds Rhinos news: boss says Matt Frawley 'a loss' after loan move as returning duo suffer injury setbacks
Leeds Rhinos will miss Matt Frawley’s input into match preparations, but his loan move to Huddersfield Giants is the right move for all parties, coach Brad Arthur insists.
Rhinos’ Australian number seven hasn’t made a first team appearance since the home win against Huddersfield on April 18 and will spend the next month with the club he played for in 2019. Jake Connor and Jack Sinfield have both moved ahead of Frawley in Rhinos’ pecking order and Giants need a scrum-half following a long-term injury to Adam Clune.
Speaking at his weekly preview press conference today (Thursday), Arthur stated the loan move is “good for Frawls”. He said: “He has been very, very good for us in terms of training and his professionalism and helping us prepare each week. That is a bit of a loss for us, but we need to put his needs there as well and playing at a higher level. It is for this month and then we’ll take it a month at a time and see where we get to. It is good for both and it is good for Huddersfield as well.”
Giants winger Elliot Wallis’ loan stay at Rhinos, which began last month, has been extended as part of the deal. Wallis is yet to play a first team game for Rhinos, has been featuring for their second-string. Arthur said: “He is getting better. We feel outside-backs is an area we can continue to look to strengthen and whileever he is training well and he has got a good attitude, we’ll continue to give him some opportunities. As long as we can keep seeing some improvement in him and him having the right attitude, we’ll see where it gets to.”
Arthur confirmed Wallis will play in this evening’s reserves game against Wakefield Trinity at AMT Headingley (7pm), along with Cooper Jenkins and Andy Ackers who have been named in the initial 21-man squad for tomorrow’s Super League game away to St Helens. But he said Alfie Edgell and Max Simpson won’t feature, after their return from injury in the lower-grade side last week.
Full-back/winger Edgell suffered a shoulder injury in Rhinos’ Magic Weekend win against Saints last month and took a similar knock in the reserves game. Arthur - who said Rhinos will be unchanged at Saints - said: “He got a bump to his shoulder.
“With the reserves playing tonight, we don’t need to push him out there. We are better off re-habbing him. He has had a tough year, he has worked hard and we don’t want to run the risk with him.”
Last Saturday’s win against Warrington was centre Simpson’s first game since an anterior cruciate ligament tear in January, 2023. Arthur said: “He has got a real slight strain or tight hamstring. It’s nothing major, but we’re not going to take any risks with him. We’ll put him back into some training and get some load into him again over the next couple of weeks and then put him out again for another game.
“He did a really good job in that game. You could see, after a long time away, he has got plenty to offer. We just want to make sure we are doing the right thing by him as a young fella.”