Garbutt backing Rhinos' rookies

With departures and injuries having decimated Leeds Rhinos’ treble-winning squad, they could be forced to throw a 19-year-old in at the deep end opposite Thurston in Sunday’s World Club Challenge.

Jordan Lilley made only his second senior start and sixth first-team appearance for Leeds in last weekend’s 56-12 Super League defeat at Widnes Vikings.

He was partnered by Liam Sutcliffe, a 21-year-old stand-off, who was playing his second competitive game following a knee reconstruction that led to a seven-month spell on the sidelines.

Injuries to half-back Danny McGuire and hooker Beau Falloon mean Leeds coach Brian McDermott will almost certainly have to include both Sutcliffe and Lilley in his squad for Sunday’s game.

It is far from an ideal situation, but sometimes careers can be made in such tough circumstances and Leeds’s Australian front-row forward Mitch Garbutt is confident their youngsters can and will cope.

“Whoever plays will be very excited and I am sure they will put their best foot forward,” Garbutt predicted.

“We do have some young players playing at the moment, but I think given time they will be great players. I don’t think anyone in the team doubts the young players at all. We have massive confidence in what they can do.

“We get to see them every day and I know Mac [McDermott] has massive confidence in them too.

“We have got no problem with having them and I think they will be better for every game they play.”

Leeds could be without six first-choice players on Sunday and will go into the tie bottom of Super League, after successive defeats.

The hosts’ form and injury problems will make North Queensland favourites for their first world title, but Garbutt believes with so much at stake, Leeds will come good.

“It is good to win any game, but to be able to take away the title of best team in the world is something we will be gunning for,” he stressed.

“We know we are coming up against a very talented North Queensland side who are coached very well, so we will be giving it our all and we will see what happens. I don’t think it will be a high scoring game, I think it will be one of those games where there’s a few points separating the teams, but we will be ripping in, that’s for sure.”

Last week’s loss was Leeds’s heaviest since 2012, but Garbutt added: “I wouldn’t say we are demoralised by what happened.

“It was disappointing, we didn’t play well, but it is early days. It’s not panic stations yet and we are very excited and really looking forward to playing against the Cowboys.

“They have got some great players, some world-class players, so any time you get to play against people like that it is going to be a good game.”

Much of the focus will be on Thurston, who will receive his Golden Boot award as the world’s best player at a ceremony in Leeds tomorrow, but Garbutt is aware North Queensland are far from a one-man team.

“They have got Matt Scott and James Tamou; Michael Morgan played great football last year and to be fair they have got class all over the park,” he observed.

Garbutt joined Leeds from Brisbane Broncos last June and will be keeping an eye on events at DW Stadium on Saturday, when his old club take on Wigan.

“I have a lot of friends at the Broncos,” Garbutt said. “I think they will be up for it. They have got a great side, they have recruited pretty well again and they’ve brought in James Roberts who will add a lot to them. I think that will be a great game.”

Brisbane are coached by new England boss Wayne Bennett. Having spent time under Bennett, Garbutt claims it is a smart appointment. “Wayne is obviously one of the most successful coaches in the world, if not the most successful,” Garbutt said.