It looked like we needed a match thread.





[url=http://www.therhinos.co.uk/matchdaytv/?play=media&id=15774#.UcLa1tjNlPcPre match Brian Mcdermott interview[/url



Worth a watch especially regarding the comments relating to the youngsters.



Looking at the table this will have a fairly big impact on where we finish up. Its another big test for the squad and huddersfield seem to have it over us at the moment.



It will be interesting to see what happens with Moon out, it was rumoured that Ablett could come back.



One other point Kallum Watkins is recovering well 2 weeks ahead of schedule.

They do seem to have something over us at present.. maybe the forced team shake up will do us some good.



Leeds by 1. Brad Singleton DG.

In the past three encounters with Hudds, Brough has kicked the shizer out of us while our forwards have been unable to cope with their's.



TBH I can see that being any different on Sunday.

Who knows? having some eager youngster willing to pressure the kicker may make some difference. as may having some forwards with some drive in their legs and halves with an unknown quality about them

I'm not so sure the comment about the forwards is correct. The last two meetings, haven't we beaten them on metres gained by some considerable distance on both occassions. And the forwards have more than held their own.



For me the last two defeats were down to Brough's kicking, and our how poor our own halfbacks were.

Singleton is a doubt - dead leg according to McDermott. From the interview it seems Jimmy Keinhorst might still be in the reckoning - despite Monday's iffy performance - which is good.

Yep, it's gonna be a toughie but if the team improves and plays as a whole a little more there's no reason to think rhinos can't win it. Hopefully we have a definite game plan for the first half, preferably lower risk and a good kick play on the end of sets and see what that brings.

I wouldn't mind some more of McShane's kicks to the corner.



Our failure to turn the ball over in good positions/panic plays have cost us dearly in previous games against the Giants. As mentioned above I don't fear for our forwards, so if we can get the field position let's make them work for it - and you never know, prevent Brough's kicking and we have more than a chance.

Huddersfield have figured out Leeds's condensed defence. They're not afraid to go wide early in the tackle count and force defenders to work hard to get across.



Blitz up as a line, and they'll just kick wide and short in behind the winger.



Leeds need to defend with more space between defenders to counter that, but that will have the effect of preventing them piling numbers into the tackle to cut down the offloads from Crabtree et al.



It's a difficult balance to strike, and one of the reasons Huddersfield are going so well. They can hurt you when they have the ball in a number of different ways, and closing down one can open you up to the other.

one of our tactics is to kick early in the tackle count...so you will make more yards that way.

This feels like a low pressure game. I mean, we could really do with 2 points (unless you subscribe to the targetting 5th theory, which I don't). But we're short of some key players, fielding a lot of talented but inexperienced players and realistically we'll be expected to get a thumping.



With that in mind, the lads can go out and have a go with nothing much to lose. Teams that do that can be very dangerous. So Hudds will clearly be big favourites, but who knows what could happen?

Is ablett back? We will need his defensive efforts in the centre with moon missing.