St Helens v Leeds Rhinos latest team news & 21-man squads as Cameron Smith praised ahead of milestone match
Co-captain Cameron Smith will start his 150th top-flight appearance on the bench when Leeds Rhinos visit St Helens this evening (Friday).
Coach Brad Arthur says Rhinos will be unchanged in the Betfred Super League round 15 clash, which means a fifth successive game as a substitute for Smith since his return from a long-term ankle injury last month. Kallum Watkins, who rejoined Leeds during Smith’s layoff, has grabbed the starting loose-forward spot, but Arthur insisted the joint-skipper is “making us better when he comes on”.
Smith bagged a brace of tries in last Saturday’s 36-12 defeat of Warrington Wolves and Arthur praised his “team-first mentality” in tough circumstances. He said: “It’s very hard for a guy who has been used to starting. He had a big pre-season and made some adjustments to his game. Through the trial games we were all thinking ‘Cam’s in for a big season’ and then he had that unfortunate injury that kept him out for a while.
“When you come back in and everyone else is 10 games deep, your match fitness takes a lot longer to get back to everyone’s level. It’s not like when you start afresh at the start of the year and everyone’s at the same level.
“That was a bit of an adjustment for him. He has had to come off the bench so he has learned that role, which is a little bit different. He has been adding something to the team and he understands it’s making us better when he comes on.
“That’s the role I’ve given him at the minute. It doesn’t mean it has to stay that way all the time, but it is working for us and working for him and he is just happy to contribute. It just shows the character of the man and how much he loves the club.”
Saints will be without scrum-half George Whitby (concussion) and second-rower Joe Batchelor (calf) from the side which won at Salford Red Devils last week. Half-back Will Roberts and back-rower Jake Davies have been drafted into their 21.
St Helens: from Feldt, Bennison, Sailor, Lomax, Walmsley, Clark, Lees, Sironen, Knowles, Mbye, Whitley, Paasi, Wingfield, Delaney, Stephens, Burns, Robertson, Roberts, Dagnall, Davies, Cross.
Leeds Rhinos: from Miller, Newman, Handley, Hall, Croft, Oledzki, Ackers, Palasia, Bentley, McDonnell, C Smith, O'Connor, Lisone, Gannon, Jenkins, Connor, Holroyd, Sinfield, Lumb, Clark-Wood, Watkins.
Referee: Jack Smith (Wigan). Kick-off: Friday, 8pm.