HULL FC stars Liam Sutcliffe and Brad Dwyer will go up against their former side Leeds Rhinos on Friday night at Headingley.
Having carved out impressive careers at the West Yorkshire club, both Dwyer and Sutcliffe made the move to East Yorkshire ahead of the 2023 Super League season.
Now, Leeds head coach Rohan Smith knows that his side will have to be on their mettle against the “dangerous” duo.
“They have the same threats that they posed for us,” Smith said.
“They were both good servants of the club, they are dangerous players in their own right and they have started the season strongly.
“I know those guys love playing at Headingley and I can’t imagine that changes if the jersey changes. They will be excited to play here.”
It will also be a novel occasion for Smith considering he will be coming up against his uncle, Tony, who was appointed head coach of the Black and Whites late last year.
“Tony and I have spoken about this in the past. It’s Hull against Leeds and maybe after the game we will take a moment to reflect together but it plays no part in the prep for me,” Smith continued.
“Tony and I haven’t really spent much time in each other’s company. He was over here in the late ’90s when I was a teenager in Australia.
“We have been influenced by the same coaches with my father (Brian) and others that have come from his coaching tree. Some of the guys that we’ve both coached have said we do things similarly but differently also.”
Under Tony Smith, Hull won their first game last week, a 32-30 thriller against the Castleford Tigers and Rohan has already noticed a number of changes from the Black and Whites side of 2022.
“Hull are forming their own identity as a new coach, they will be a work in progress as are we. There are lots of changes in our roster. Last week, Hull was an exciting game for the neutral and both teams played well at various parts of the game.
“They are playing a lot more freely, relaxed and kicking when they feel an opportunity to kick much like many of Tony’s teams have done over the years.
“Obviously there is different personnel, but they showed some real strike in their friendlies and they were red hot for a period last week.”
