Ashton Golding and Kruise Leeming will face friendly fire if they make their long awaited debuts for their new clubs on Sunday.
The pair have had to wait over six months for their first appearances at respective new clubs Huddersfield and Leeds, having traded places in the close season.
Full-back Golding missed the start of the campaign with Huddersfield through a hamstring injury while Leeds recruit Leeming needed knee surgery.
Now they could both make their bows against former team-mates in Super League’s Sunday restart - with their old coaches among their biggest admirers.
Rhinos boss Richard Agar explained: “The important thing to say about Ashton is how much he is respected within our squad. As a coach I’d be perfectly happy to have him again if things didn’t work out at Huddersfield - I’d take him back no problem.
“He’s a wonderful professional and good player, we just had two full-backs of a similar age, and it’s fair to say Jack Walker nudged in front of Ashton over a period of time.
“There was a bit of salary cap business decision in it as well, but absolutely he went with our best wishes.”
Hooker Leeming handed in a transfer request at Huddersfield last year but that hasn’t affected Giants coach Simon Woolford’s opinion of his former player.
Woolford said: “I don’t wish anything but good things for Kruise, he’s a great player and a good person. He wanted to become an 80-minute type player and was becoming frustrated, and I wish him well, there’s no bad blood there.
“I’ve told Kruise a number of times he could play for England, he’s a talented kid. I’d be lying if I said I don’t want him to have a quiet game, but knowing his personality he’ll want to come and play well against us.”
Super League’s first two rounds of fixtures are all being held at Leeds’ Headingley home - meaning that Huddersfield have to surrender home advantage.
Both coaches have played down the significance of that - with Agar promising to leave a present for Woolford in the home changing rooms that the Giants will occupy.
Agar said: “We’ve left a big crate of beer room for Simon to get stuck into pre-game.”
Woolford added: “I wouldn’t say we are surrendering home advantage as there will be no home crowd.
“It is what it is - we have never experienced times like these and we are grateful to be back playing. I would like to think it will not make any difference to us but we will wait and see.”
