Rohan Smith has hinted at a Leeds Rhinos reshuffle after leaving Jack Sinfield out of the 21-man squad for the club's pivotal play-off clash with Salford Red Devils. Blake Austin is suspended and the young halfback appeared to be the like-for-like replacement for Sunday's game.
But he has not made the squad and will instead play for England Academy this weekend. Explaining that decision, Smith said: "Jack's had a lengthy disruption with concussion from the last Salford match. He had his exams which interrupted his prep and training a little bit. He will play for England Academy and build up some consistency and cohesion with his training the next couple of weeks then he will come back into contention for Super League."
With no other obvious halfback choice being drafted in, a reshuffle appears the most likely course of action. The most likely move appears to be the one Smith has tried out several times this year. That will see Richie Myler move into the halves, with Ash Handley utilised at fullback. That would see Nene Macdonald most likely move to the wing, freeing up a centre spot. Young fullback Alfie Edgell has been named in the squad in Austin's absence.
"We've got a few options that we've trained with this week," Smith said. "We've got a versatile squad and we'll miss Blake but the team has been playing well. It gives other people to step forward, particularly on the left edge, to take a bit more responsibility and cover up for Blake's one-week absence."
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Leeds Rhinos squad : Richie Myler, David Fusitu'a, Nene Macdonald, Ash Handley, Aidan Sezer, Mikolaj Oledzki, James Bentley, Rhuse Martin, Cameron Smith, Jarrod O'Connor, Sam Lisone, Tom Holroyd, James McDonnell, Luke Hooley, Sam Walters, Liam Tindall, Luis Roberts, James Donaldson, Corey Johnson, Leon Ruan, Alfie Edgell.
