Richard Agar has insisted he would have no issue with handing Kyle Eastmond his Leeds Rhinos debut in the Challenge Cup this weekend - but stopped short of confirming whether he will make his first rugby league appearance in a decade against his former side St Helens.
The defending holders face the reigning Super League champions in the standout tie of the round on Saturday, with Eastmond potentially in the frame to come into Agar's side, with Robert Lui still out injured.
And having been impressed with Eastmond's progression since he joined the club on the eve of the new season, Agar said: "I'd have no problems throwing him in whatsoever. We'll have a look at the team and the state of it during the week and make some calls on it then."
However, when pushed on whether Eastmond would definitely play, Agar remained coy. "We'll see how we go through the week. I'm not giving too much away, with Kristian (Woolf) on the (Zoom) call!
"We had a fairly hectic game at the weekend, and we've clearly got one or two question marks on ins and outs. We'll see how we go as we approach the weekend."
Should he play, Eastmond is likely to be the only fresh face in Agar's squad for the game, with the Rhinos coach confirming his injured stars are still at least a week away from returning.
"Apart from Kyle, they're all still probably a week or so away from getting back," he said. "Wigan, or more likely Hull KR, is when we start to get quite a number of guys back."
