LEEDS RHINOS will be without new recruit Jack Bird for their clash against Wigan Warriors this weekend.
Bird, who recently made the move to Leeds from NRL side Wests Tigers, has had a clear out of his knee.
That now means that Harry Newman has been recalled from his loan spell at Hull FC as Rhinos boss Brad Arthur explains what his side needs to do to continue their charge towards the top of the Super League ladder.
“We need to make the most of the position we are in. We can’t put our slippers on and get comfortable,” Arthur said.
“We have had discussions around that and I do get that luck plays a lot in injuries but you need to work hard and minimise those problems.
“The worst thing you can do is get comfortable and not do all the simple things that got us in this position.
“That’s what we’ve focused on – to get our detail right off the field with our prep and that will carry on to the field.
“There will be a change this week as Jack Bird has a grumbling knee so we have opted to clean that out.
“Harry Newman will come back into the team and get an opportunity.”
So what does Newman need to do to keep his place?
“He doesn’t need to do anything different to what his strengths are.
“We need to make sure he is nice and busy and brings urgency in defence. He has had the luxury of playing for Hull so that worked out for us in keeping him match fit with physicality and contact.
“It’s hard when you go into a new system and try and fit in but I think he did that quite well.
“The biggest things is consistency week in, week out. If you miss a few weeks in a row, your body loses that hardened edge.”
Meanwhile, Ethan O’Neill has made the loan switch to Hull FC, joining Jeremiah Mata’utia.
“It’s nice for Ethan. The loan players are Leeds players and we will reiterate that.
“They are out on a month’s loan so they can do it properly, review and preview games and get a real good crack at it.
“We need to make sure we’ve got the understanding that it’s a month, but we can recall them after a week if we need to.”