Sinfield respect for Saints kids

St Helens v Leeds team news

Leeds captain Kevin Sinfield insists St Helens will be a very tough proposition in Friday's play-off battle even without star players like Sean Long.

"We all know what a player like Sean can do but Saints have got some very good youngsters to call on," the Rhinos star told the BBC Sport website.

"It can be harder to defend against these younger ones.

"You know what to expect from Sean but some of these youngsters are an unknown quantity, which makes life difficult."

Saints are also without Paul Sculthorpe, Darren Albert and Mark Edmondson for the game at Knowsley Road.

But Sculthorpe, who is currently recovering from knee surgery, is confident the club's injury problems will not stop them from beating Leeds and reaching the Grand Final.

We feel we know how to beat them and have proved before that we can Paul Sculthorpe on Leeds

"It's a big ask but the lads are confident and performing well in training," he said.

"We finished top of the pile at the end of the regular season so the team know how they can perform.

"We have a few injuries but we've suffered during the regular season, too, and still performed to a high standard."

Sculthorpe says the Rhinos will be a tough nut to crack, especially with Sinfield at the helm.

"Kevin has led the team superbly and really leads by example," said Sculthorpe.

"He's got good players around him but we feel we know how to beat them and have proved before that we can."