YEP rugby league writer Peter Smith looks ahead to Leeds Rhinos' tough game at Catalans Dragons on Saturday.
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00:00 Catalan's Dragon's Way is always one of the toughest games of the season. I don't think
00:06 this weekend will be any different for Leeds Rhinos. They have to contend with different
00:12 conditions to what they've been used to this season. Most games have been played in cold,
00:17 blustery, wet conditions. It'll be warm, sunny and dry over in Perpignan on Saturday. They've
00:25 also got the travel to cope with and the fact that they're taking on one of the top teams
00:31 in the competition. That said, Catalan's began the weekend just two points ahead of Leeds
00:36 in fifth place. Leeds were seventh and Rhinos beat them 18-10 earlier in the campaign. So
00:42 they can take something from that. The downside for Rhinos is their injury situation. Catalan's
00:48 have a few missing but Leeds have got some very influential players out. Most notably
00:53 Brodie Croft, the stand-off, who's created around half of their tries this season. He's
00:59 got a groin injury. He's expected to be back for Leeds' next game which is against St Helens
01:05 in 13 days after the Catalan's trip but they'll certainly miss him out in France. It is an
01:12 opportunity for Matt Frawley to come back into the team. He was dropped for the London
01:16 game with Jack Sinfield taking his place. He'll partner Sinfield in the halves this
01:21 week and will certainly have a point to prove. He's played at the top level in Australia,
01:27 was a stand-off in the play-offs last year for Canberra Raiders. He's better than he's
01:33 shown in some of his games for Leeds this year and this is a good opportunity for him
01:38 to come out and prove what he can do really. Leeds look a little bit lightweight in the
01:43 backs. It's difficult to see where they're going to score a lot of points from. It'll
01:47 take a big defensive effort from them against a large Catalan's pack. Leeds' forwards have
01:55 been overrun a couple of times this season and Rhinos can't afford that to happen for
02:00 certain but at some stage Leeds are going to produce a really big performance that surprises
02:05 a few people. This could well be it this weekend. It's a pivotal game. If they win they'll be
02:10 right back in the play-offs hunt. For all the talk of what a poor start to the season
02:17 it's been for Rhinos, they're only two points adrift at the start of this weekend behind
02:23 the six teams above them in the table. Six teams locked together, two points ahead of
02:29 Leeds who are seventh. So Rhinos are right in the mix and they've obviously had a lot
02:36 of injuries to contend with. They'll be hoping to get some players back over the next few
02:40 weeks. Clearly can't afford to lose any more and it's going to be a big challenge for them
02:45 out in France with an understrength team. They were beaten 61-0 there last year and
02:51 obviously the basic requirement is people will want to make sure there's no repeat of
02:57 that. I think that was a one-off. I think Leeds will be competitive this weekend. It's
03:03 going to be a really tall order for them to get the two points but I wouldn't completely
03:07 discount them. This team I think is better than some people have given it credit for
03:13 and I do think there's a big win coming and perhaps it'll be this weekend. We shall see.
03:18 Game kicks off 5.30 UK time in Perpignan, coverage on Sky Sports and of course there'll
03:25 be match report, player ratings and reaction in the evening post and online.
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