Leeds Rhinos are talking the talk ahead of their World Club Challenge against Melbourne Storm in Australia but it’s impossible to hold out much hope for the Super League Grand Final winners at the AAMI Park.
The Storm have named 11 members of their 2017 NRL Grand Final-winning team in the starting line-up for Friday’s one-off game, including five Australian World Cup winners, though Cooper Cronk’s absence is a plus for the Rhinos. Melbourne coach Craig Bellamy has named an initial eight replacements but that will have to be cut to four when the team-sheets are handed in. There will, however, be 12 interchanges allowed instead of the usual 10.
As well as having jet lag to contend with and an Australian summer, Leeds have been forced to leave four of their front-line forwards at home. Mitch Garbutt, Keith Galloway, Anthony Mullally and Nathaniel Peteru are all recovering from knocks. Stand-off Joel Moon has travelled but remains a doubt because of a hamstring strain so Liam Sutcliffe could cover again in the specialist position. A further complication for Leeds is that the NRL has decided that the game will be overseen by two referees, a concept unfamiliar to Super League teams but one that Australia is keen to promote and see adopted worldwide.
Melbourne Storm and Leeds Rhinos have met three times previously in the World Club Challenge in the modern era. The Victorian team have won two to the Yorkshire side’s one but there has never been more than an eight-point winning margin. While the home side are only a best 1/11 to win with Betway, the Rhinos are a huge 7/4 with Betfred getting a 16-point start on the handicap.
Leeds can equal Wigan’s four World Club Challenge wins with victory in Melbourne but this is the first time that they will have played the fixture in Australia, though they are in good form having won both Super League matches to date in the new season. Melbourne don’t start their domestic campaign for another four weeks so are still in the midst of pre-season preparations and not likely to be fully wound-up. That offers some hope for Brian McDermott’s men, who will be competitive enough to cover that aforementioned handicap.
