Leeds Rhinos 'look fantastic' says Warrington Wolves coach Daryl Powell ahead of huge Super League opener

The game is Powell’s first competitive fixture in charge of Warrington, following his move from Castleford Tigers at the end of last year and he reckons his new side have their work cut out.

“Leeds look fantastic, the squad they’ve got,” Powell said.

But he insisted: “We are looking forward to the challenge.”

Rhinos held on for a six point win at HJ Stadium last year, but were pipped by a last-gasp drop goal from George Williams, on his Warrington debut, in the Headingley return.

That was Wolves’ first away win over Rhinos since 2018.

The hosts will be close to full-strength, but are without star stand-off Blake Austin, who joined them from Warrington in the off-season.

The Australian was suspended for one game following a yellow card in Tom Briscoe’s testimonial match last month, depriving Channel 4 viewers of a major storyline in the first Super League game to be shown on free-to-air television.

Powell, though, insisted his absence “won’t affect the way we go about things”.

He said: “Potentially it brings [Richie] Myler to half and [Jack] Walker to full-back, but I’d expect they are going to play the same way and they have got a pretty big, brutal pack.

“You know where the threats come from with Leeds and [David] Fusitu’a looks like he’s going to add a fair bit to them.

“He is a big handful of a thing.

“We just need to make sure we look after ourselves and play the way we know we can.”