Rhinos coach Agar expects a ‘very different game’ on its return
HIS SIDE were arguably the form team at the time Super League was suspended almost four months ago, but Leeds Rhinos coach Richard Agar has warned that will count for nothing when the competition resumes on August 2.
Leeds went into the unscheduled break third in the table and on a four-game winning run, having scored 176 points and conceded only 30 during their best sequence of results since 2017.
They will take to the field, for the first time since March 5, when they face fifth-placed Huddersfield Giants in the third game of a reopening triple-header also including a bottom-two battle between Hull KR and Toronto Wolfpack and champions St Helens’ meeting with Catalans Dragons.
Those matches will be staged behind closed doors at a venue yet to be confirmed, though Headingley is understood to be favourite. The restarted season could be played under new rules, including a ‘sixagain’ option following offences around the ruck and with scrums abandoned due to health concerns.
In addition, the competition has been reduced from 27 rounds to 22 and the top-four will qualify for knockout semi-finals, without the previously scheduled play-offs.
Teams are likely to have only three weeks to prepare for the resumption and Agar believes adapting quickly to Super League’s new normal will hold the key to a successful campaign.
“It will be very, very different,” predicted the former Hull and Wakefield Trinity coach.
“We have already had some protocols about what we can and can’t do around training.
“We are all going to have to adapt very quickly to a new way of working, certainly in the short- and medium-term.”
Agar warned the way teams are prepared is “certainly going to have to be adapted”, but insisted: “That is the challenge.”
He said: “Given the circumstances of the comp’ – it has been shortened, there’s going to be some rule changes, we are going to have limited preparation – it is going to be a team that very much adapts that is probably going to come out on top this year.
“We’ve got some very different circumstances, but we are prepared to meet them head on so we can get back out on the field and get going again.”
Limited time to get back up to speed is a concern for Agar, but he is buoyed by the way Leeds’ players have knuckled down to training at home while on furlough.
“It isn’t a long time,” said Agar of the three weeks between Rhinos’ expected return to training on July 13 and the meeting with Huddersfield.
“We are pretty confident the bulk of our squad is in good nick, but at the same time if someone comes back and they are not right and they need an extra week or two to build up their strength or get their running back, we wouldn’t take any risks.
“We wouldn’t put anybody at the risk of injury by playing them when they’re not fit. We think there’s a bigger picture and we are prepared to do the right thing from a health and welfare perspective to get them right to play in what is going to be a very condensed season.”
Meanwhile, Leeds captain Stevie Ward and half-back Richie Myler are both expected to join Toronto Wolfpack – coached by former Leeds chief Brian McDermott – when their contracts expire at the end of this season.