Super League 2021: Round One squad news

The Betfred Super League season gets underway this weekend.

St Helens v Salford (Friday, 6pm, Sky Sports Main Event & Arena)

St Helens will be without Morgan Knowles for the opening rounds of their Betfred Super League title defence.

The champions have revealed that Morgan, the club’s 2020 player of the year, has experienced complications following thumb surgery in the off-season which will sideline him for a number of weeks.

Saints coach Kristian Woolf has included all three overseas signings – Joel Thompson, Sione Mata’utia and Agnatius Paasi – in his 21-man squad for Friday’s opening match against Salford at Headingley.

Salford coach Richard Marshall could hand as many as seven debuts out with new recruits Morgan Escare, Elijah Taylor, Danny Addy, Harvey Livett, Matty Costello, Jack Wells and Dec Patton all being named in the squad.

The Red Devils will be without number nine Andy Ackers and prop Darcy Lussick.

St Helens: Coote, Makinson, Naiqama, Percival, Grace, Lomax, Fages, Walmsley, Roby, Lees, Thompson, Bentley, Mata’utia, McCarthy-Scarsbrook, Amor, Paasi, Welsby, Smith, Batchelor, Dodd, Simm.

Salford: Escare, Sio, Watkins, Inu, Lolohea, Brown, Mossop, Ikahihifo, Lannon, Pauli, Taylor, Addy, Johnson, Kear, Livett, Williams, Sarginson, Costello, Ormondroyd, Wells, Patton.

Leigh v Wigan (Friday, 8:15pm, Sky Sports Main Event & Arena)

Wigan will be without half-back Jackson Hastings for Friday’s opening Super League match against promoted Leigh at Headingley. The 2019 Man of Steel has only been back in the country a fortnight after being given permission to extend his close-season trip back to Australia.

The Warriors will also be without Bevan French after his return from Australia was similarly delayed – Zak Hardaker will revert to full-back – but new signing Jai Field could make his debut in the halves after being named in Lam’s 21-man squad.

Both first-choice wingers Liam Marshall and Dom Manfredi and centre Oliver Gildart are absent through injury.

Leigh are set to give debuts to former Wigan winger Lewis Tierney and half-backs Joe Mellor and Blake Wallace and coach John Duffy has also included hooker Josh Eaves, who is on loan from St Helens.

The Centurions will be without scrum-half Jamie Ellis, centre Junior Sa’u and former Wigan prop Ben Flower due to injury and the game has come too soon for overseas recruits James Bell, Brendan Elliot and Nathan Peats.

Leigh: Brierley, Russell, Thornley, Tierney, Wallace, Mellor, Hood, Ioane, Hellewell, Thompson, Wildie, Gerrard, Peteru, Gee, Mason, Sidlow, McCarthy, Brand, Eaves.

Wigan: Hardaker, Field, Leuluai, Singleton, Powell, Bullock, Isa, Farrell, Bateman, Partington, Smithies, Clubb, Byrne, Smith, Havard, Bibby, Clark, Shorrocks, Halsall, McDonnell, Hanley.

Wakefield v Leeds (Saturday, 3pm, Sky Sports Main Event & Arena)

Wakefield: Johnstone, Tupou, Lyne, Kay, Miller, Lino, Fifita, Arona, Ashurst, Tanginoa, Westerman, Batchelor, Green, Senior, Crowther, Arundel, Walker, Tangata, Wood, Walker, Aydin.

Leeds: T Briscoe, Gale, Oledzki, Leeming, Prior, Mellor, Martin, Tetevano, Dwyer, L Sutcliffe, Myler, Smith, Vuniyayawa, Thompson, A Sutcliffe, Walters, L Briscoe, Donaldson, O’Connor, Broadbent, Eastmond.

Catalans v Hull KR (Saturday, 5:15pm, Sky Sports Main Event & Arena)

Catalans: Mourgue, Davies, Whare, Yaha, Maloney, Drinkwater, Dudson, Bousquet, Whitley, McMeeken, Garcia, Da Costa, Jullien, Seguier, Goudemand, Belmas, Laguerre, Baitieri, Chan, Kasiano, S Tomkins.

Hull KR: Quinlan, Crooks, Minikin, Kenny-Dowall, Hall, Abdull, Vete, Parcell, Sims, Takairangi, Linnett, Hadley, Litten, Lawler, King, Minchella, Storton, Lewis, Ryan, Milnes, Johnson.

Hull FC v Huddersfield (Sunday, 12:30pm, Sky Sports Arena & Mix)

Hull: TBA

Huddersfield: TBA

Castleford v Warrington (Sunday, 2:45pm, Sky Sports Arena & Mix)

Castleford: TBA

Warrington: TBA

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