McDermott demands repeat display as his Rhinos team return to Salford

Rampant Leeds delivered some brilliant football with a series of long-range tries and defence-splitting off-loads during a 56-16 Super League win in March.

They head there again in the Carnegie Challenge Cup fifth round and McDermott admitted: “We were hot that night and Salford were a bit off.

“We know that we need to reach that level of performance, at least, to keep our Challenge Cup hopes alive. I’m sure that Salford will be stronger this Sunday but the good thing is that we have been there already this season so we are familiar with their new surroundings.”

Leeds, losing finalists in each of the last two seasons, showed signs of their growing purpose with an impressive win over Catalan Dragons last week.

Tenth-placed Salford, meanwhile, slipped to a dismal 26-22 loss at lowly Wakefield.

“By their own admission, they were disappointing against the Wildcats and normally that leads to a reaction,” added McDermott.

“I think they will be much improved from their performance last week against Wakefield.

“(Coach) Phil Veivers is doing a great job there and they have produced some great performances this season.

“They’ve invested heavily in that new ground and their management will want them to move up a gear and challenge for silverware.

“The Cup is a fantastic opportunity for them. I’m sure they’ll see the chance to knock us out as a real boost to that and we must be aware of that.”

McDermott has added hooker Paul McShane and Brad Singleton to the 17-man squad that defeated Catalan.