Revenge on the menu for Leeds

Champions Leeds have two reasons to be distracted when they travel to Wigan for their second Super League game of the season on Saturday.

The Warriors got the better of the Rhinos in their last meeting, the Challenge Cup Final at Wembley, and revenge is sure to be in the thoughts of some of the players at the DW Stadium on Saturday.

It was of course Leeds’ second consecutive Challenge Cup final defeat, having been beaten by Warrington in 2010, but they had the last laugh, going on to win the 2011 Super League title.

As a consequence of that success, Leeds will face Manly Sea Eagles in the World Club Challenge a week on Friday, and the Rhinos players will be looking to secure their selection for that game by playing well against Wigan.

Recent arrival Darrell Griffin, who made his Leeds debut in the win over Hull KR on Friday, is focused on the Warriors game.

He said: “We have got a big game next week and we need to improve our performance from our showing against Hull KR. I don’t think the Cup Final will be a big factor in our preparations. 

“Obviously I wasn’t here last year but our focus will be on the here and now and doing what we have to do to get the right result.”

Leeds, who won the World Club Challenge in 2005 and 2008, will also be out for revenge against Manly. The Sea Eagles defeated them 28-20 in the 2009 game, and the Rhinos also lost two years ago against Melbourne Storm.