Super League: Will returning Brad Dwyer make difference for Leeds Rhinos against Catalans Dragons? | Rugby League News

Brad Dwyer is set to return to action for Leeds against Catalans

Richard Agar is hoping the return of Brad Dwyer will give Leeds Rhinos a defensive boost when they take on Catalans Dragons in Thursday’s Betfred Super League clash, live on Sky Sports.

The hooker was forced to sit out last week’s 34-12 defeat away to Wigan Warriors as a result of being handed a one-game ban following his yellow card in the narrow 22-20 season-opening loss at home to Warrington Wolves.

Rhinos head coach Agar is demanding a much-improved defensive display from his side when they welcome last year’s Grand Final runners-up to Headingley and believes Dwyer will inject some urgency into the team.

Leeds Rhinos vs Catalans Dragons

February 24, 2022, 7:30pm

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“I thought last week – one thing we talked about post-game – we lacked some line-speed and our defence, we felt, was really passive,” Agar said.

“Some indicators are when guys are carrying right across your defensive line, which I didn’t think was a feature the week before.

“From the Warrington game, where our line-speed and pressure we exerted under-numbered were fantastic. I felt we had a pretty passive defensive line, and the ruck speed was too quick on us.

“One thing Brad gives us is sharpness, high-energy line-speed, good inside line pressure, tons of enthusiasm and he’s a tough little thing who’s got the ability to spark us in any situation.”

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Brad Dwyer poses an attacking threat out of dummy-half for the Rhinos

Just what Dwyer brings to the Rhinos in defence can be seen from his 2021 statistics, where he ranked joint-fifth for number of marker tackles made (142) in Super League as well as making the second-highest number of tackles of any Leeds player (669) behind Rhyse Martin (677).

The 28-year-old poses an attacking threat too, particularly out of dummy-half where he made more runs than any other hooker in the competition last year (155), along with having an average gain of 8.91 metres per carry.

Dwyer’s return is tempered by the fact Richie Myler is set to be out for around 10 weeks after an abductor injury after undergoing surgery, while David Fusitu’a and Harry Newman are still not quite ready to return. Back row Martin remains in Australia on compassionate leave but should be back next week.

Catalans, meanwhile, are somewhat light in the pack after Mickael Goudemand joined the injured Julian Bousquet and suspended pair Dylan Napa and Gil Dudson on the sidelines after failing a head injury assessment in the 24-22 win over Wakefield Trinity last Saturday.

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Highlights of the Super League match between Catalans Dragons and Wakefield Trinity

It was the Dragons’ first win of the season after going down to St Helens in the Grand Final rematch on opening night, but head coach Steve McNamara believes there are plenty of improvements his side can make for their trip to the Rhinos.

“I thought we were dominant throughout, but we missed so many opportunities,” McNamara said. “We had so many chances to score tries but we just blew them. Wakefield showed great tenacity to stay in the game.

“But our discipline, when we had Wakefield in difficult positions, let us down too many times. It’s just not good enough. We’ve got a really short turnaround before Leeds, and we know what we have to work on.”

Even with the absentees in the French side’s pack, Agar is particularly wary of the danger posed in the halves by Josh Drinkwater, praising his ability to put opponents on the back foot with his smart choices in when to run and when to kick.

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Highlights of the Super League match between Wigan Warriors and Leeds Rhinos

The Rhinos boss’ focus is mostly on his own team though and he has not spoken to close friend and Wakefield head coach Willie Poching about what worked well for them in Perpignan over the weekend.

“I’ve not spoken to Willie,” Agar said. “We’re more concerned about getting our own performance right rather than what tactics Wakefield went into the game with.

“We’re more interested in making sure we get a performance more akin to what we saw in Round 1 akin to effort and energy.

“I don’t want to downplay Wigan – I thought they played well. I don’t want to sound like it’s all about us, Wigan did a good job on us last week. But at the same time, we were disappointed across the board.”

Named squads

Leeds Rhinos: Jack Walker, Liam Sutcliffe, Ash Handley, Blake Austin, Aidan Sezer, Mikolaj Oledzki, Kruise Leeming, Matt Prior, Zane Tetevano, Brad Dwyer, Alex Mellor, Cameron Smith, Bodene Thompson, Tom Briscoe, Jack Broadbent, Jarrod O’Connor, James Donaldson, Corey Johnson, Max Simpson, Liam Tindall.

Catalans Dragons: Tom Davies, Samisoni Langi, Dean Whare, Fouad Yaha, Mitchell Pearce, Josh Drinkwater, Micky McIlorum, Matt Whitley, Mike McMeeken, Benjamin Garcia, Alrix Da Costa, Benjamin Jullien, Paul Seguier, Matthieu Laguerre, Arthur Romano, Tyrone May, Jordan Dezaria, Mathieu Cozza, Joe Chan, Sam Kasiano, Sam Tomkins.

Wigan Warriors vs Huddersfield Giants (DW Stadium, 8pm)

Thursday’s other Super League match sees two of the competition’s unbeaten teams go head to head at the DW Stadium as Wigan Warriors host Huddersfield Giants.

The Warriors made it two wins from two with last Friday’s victory over Leeds, having opened the campaign with victory on the road at Hull Kingston Rovers.

Both games have seen some eye-catching individual and team displays, and it is the latter Peet is particularly pleased with along with the results Wigan have produced in the opening two rounds.

“The way we seem to be working hard, the lads are putting the team first, they’re committed to each other – it’s that side of it that’s been most pleasing,” Peet said.

“We try to encourage them to enjoy it consistently, you can’t just enjoy it when you win and be grumpy when you lose – it’s about enjoying the process.”

Peet has been able to name an unchanged 21-man squad, with the injured Iain Thornley the only absentee, but Giants head coach Ian Watson has been forced into changes with hooker Danny Levi and half-back Theo Fages both out due to one and two-match bans respectively.

Ashton Golding is back for potentially his first appearance of the year though, with Will Pryce and Jack Ashworth in contention again too, while Watson will be looking for his forwards to again lay the groundwork after doing so in Saturday’s 26-12 win over Hull KR.

“Our forward pack were very physical in the first half and got on top of the opposition,” Watson said. “So, we knew we had to be on our game and both our starting pack and those coming off the bench were really on it.

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Highlights of the Betfred Super League game between Huddersfield Giants and Hull KR

“Maybe we lost a bit of focus and concentration in the second half, but the amount of effort we put into defending our goal-line in that half was impressive.”

Named squads

Wigan Warriors: Jake Bibby, Zak Hardaker, Liam Marshall, Cade Cust, Tommy Leuluai, Brad Singleton, Sam Powell, Patrick Mago, Willie Isa, Liam Farrell, John Bateman, Morgan Smithies, Kaide Ellis, Harry Smith, Oliver Partington, Liam Byrne, Kai Pearce-Paul, Joe Shorrocks, Jai Field, Abbas Miski, Brad O’Neill.

Huddersfield Giants: Will Pryce, Jermaine McGillvary, Ricky Leutele, Ashton Golding, Tui Lolohea, Chris Hill, Michael Lawrence, Josh Jones, Chris McQueen, Luke Yates, Matty English, Joe Greenwood, Owen Trout, Sebastine Ikahihifo, Adam O’Brien, Olly Wilson, Leroy Cudjoe, Louis Senior, Olly Russell, Innes Senior, Jack Ashworth.