Reaction to Leeds Rhinos' win over Bradford Bulls and James McDonnell injury update

Sunday’s 24-10 defeat of Bradford Bulls was Rhinos’ first pre-season win, at the third attempt, but gave few clues as to how the team will line up against Warrington Wolves in Betfred Super League round one on Thursday, February 16.

Several first-choice players have yet to feature because of injury and others - including half-backs Blake Austin and Aidan Sezer and hooker Kruise Leeming - weren’t involved against Bulls.

After fielding a strong side for the first 40 minutes, Rhinos gave a host of youngsters an opportunity following the break and Walker, who stood in for boss Rohan Smith at the post-match press conference, said it was a “useful exercise for us as a group”.

He insisted: “Our aim is to keep building in the trial games and use them as that, rather than trying to peak and show our hand too much.

“We’ve worked on some combinations we’ve been practicing from the beginning of pre-season and it was a good opportunity for the young lads to get out there.

“They’ve had a big impact on pre-season and they are building nicely.”

Walker - who was academy and reserves coach last year before stepping up to his first team role - was pleased with how the rookies coped.

“They’ve played together a lot,” he said. “The environment has accepted them as young blokes and they are confident in their playing ability; they just need to learn how to play a level up.”

Pick of the them was second-rower Joe Gibbons, who was promoted from the reserves into the full-time squad at the start of pre-season.

Gibbons, whose father David Gibbons played for Leeds at the start of Super League, made a long-range break for one try and scored another and Walker said: “He has grown in pre-season.

“In the past he has been a bit inconsistent with stuff, but he is getting better with that, with the way he is training and he is getting his rewards out there. He is putting into practice when he has been practising.”

Two reserve grade players, half-back Kai Morgan - who had a recent loan spell at Halifax - and hooker Bailey Aldridge, were handed some surprise game time off the bench in the closing stages.

Walker said: “It was to give them a feel of it. They weren’t on the official teamsheet, but they got a little run out late on.”

A concert held at the stadium earlier this month left a large part of the playing surface in poor condition, but Walker said there were no issues with the pitch.

“There’s no complaints from the lads about the field, there was plenty of sand on there at one end, but it seemed all right,” he said.

Rhinos had a scare in the first half when James McDonnell, an off-season signing from Wigan Warriors, hobbled off, but he was cleared of serious injury after the game.

The assistant-boss said: “He’s fine, it was just precautionary, I don’t think there’s a major issue there. He’ll be all right, he could have gone back on.”