Ablett looking forward to Boxing Day

The fact that only four Rhinos are on duty with England during the Gillette Four Nations and Kylie Leuluai away with Samoa means that coach Brian McClennan will have the majority of the Grand Final winning squad to pick from for the annual clash with Wakefield.

New signing Brett Delaney will make his first appearance for the Rhinos whilst the likes of Rob Burrow, Carl Ablett, Ryan Bailey, Danny Buderus, Brent Webb, Scott Donald, Ali Lauitiiti, Luke Burgess and Ian Kirke could all feature on Boxing Day.

For Rob Burrow it will mean his first Festive outing since 2004 and the scrum half admits he is looking forward to it. "Boxing Day is a great occasion and I am looking forward to playing in it this year. The last few years I have been sat in the stand supporting the guys but it will be good to be involved this year. For a lot of us, Boxing Day was our first chance to show what we can do in the first team when we were youngsters and it is amazing to think what we have gone on to achieve as a group since then. I am looking forward to playing alongside Brett Delaney, it is always hard for a player when he comes into a new environment but hopefully getting a game under his belt early will help him settle in."

This will be the sixth consecutive year that Leeds have met Wakefield in the Cravendale Festive Challenge with the Rhinos winning the first three and the Wildcats looking to level the series this year after back to back wins.

Commenting on the game Chief Executive Gary Hetherington said, "Unlike last year with the World Cup, there are only a handful of players who will miss the start of pre-season this year. Everyone else will be begin pre-season at the end of the month and be available for Boxing Day with the exception of Keith Senior and Jamie Jones-Buchanan who had operations at the end of last season. Brian McClennan will have to assess the fitness of his players nearer the time but it certainly looks like an exciting line up at this stage.

"There will also be an opportunity for players like Jay Pitts, Kyle Amor and Michael Coady to show what they can do as they look to press their claims for a first team spot. Jay has won the last two Cravendale Festive Challenge games but with Wakefield so hopefully he will be lucky for us this time!" added Hetherington.

Tickets are on sale now for the Cravendale Festive Challenge. Members who purchase their ticket before 7pm on Monday 7th December will receive a £2 discount on the matchday admission. Seat season tickets holders have until then to purchase their seat before any unsold tickets will be released on general sale. The matchday admission prices for 2009 will be applied for this game meaning adults tickets start from £17 and juniors for just £5.

To purchase tickets for the Cravendale Festive Challenge go to www.therhinos.co.uk/buytickets or call 0871 423 1315