Danny expects a tough test in 400th outing

LEEDS captain Danny McGuire is confident his club are on the up but believes he could not have had a tougher test for his 400th appearance than a visit to bottom club Warrington.

The clubs may be at opposite ends of the Betfred Super League table but McGuire knows how desperate the Wolves will be to get that first elusive win of the season tonight, because the Rhinos were in similarly dire straights this time last year.

“We can sympathise,” said McGuire, who was a spectator for much of the time as Leeds languished in the bottom four all season. “We struggled a bit last year.

“When you’re losing it’s tough, it’s more draining mentally than physically.

“But I looked at their team against Hull and said to myself: ‘how can they be bottom of the league with the players they’ve got?’.

“They’ve got a great team and obviously a brilliant coach in Tony (Smith). They will bounce back for sure and I just hope it’s not this week. We’ll be trying to make it even worse for them.

“As a team in that situation, you just want to get that first win to start building that momentum and that’s what Warrington will be speaking about this week. It makes them dangerous.

“Warrington is always a tough place to go and get a win. I don’t think we could have had a tougher game for my 400th.”

Leeds centre Kallum Watkins celebrated his 200th appearance for the club with a crucial try in his side’s 26-18 win over Wigan last Friday and McGuire admits it would be nice to mark his landmark game in similar fashion.

He has amassed 259 tries in his 399 appearances so far but has touched down just once in seven games so far this year.

“It would be nice,” McGuire added. “I don’t get many nowadays. As long as the team are going well and we keep finding this consistency, I’ll be happy.

“When you make your debut, that’s the first box ticked and everything after that is a plus.

“I’ve seen so many players come and go who could potentially play 200 or 300 games for the club and they don’t last two minutes.”

Hull FC v Salford Red Devils, Leigh Centurions v Catalans Dragons, St Helens v Huddersfield Giants, Wakefield Trinity v Widnes Vikings, Warrington Wolves v Leeds Rhinos (Sky Sports 3)

Batley Bulldogs v Rochdale Hornets, Bradford Bulls v Sheffield Eagles, Featherstone Rovers v London Broncos, Halifax v Dewsbury Rams, Swinton v Hull K R

Hemel Stags v Keighley (2pm), Oxford v York (2pm), Crusaders v Newcastle Thunder (2.30pm), Doncaster v Toronto Wolfpack (3pm), Gloucestershire All Golds v London Skolars (3pm), Hunslet v South Wales (3pm), Whitehaven v Coventry (3pm)