A new Betfred Super League season brings new and exciting matchups and head to head clashes, and round one at AMT Headingley is no different as Leeds and Salford...

Here's a closer look at one of those key matchups, centres Harry Newman against Tim Lafai:

*All data is courtesy of OPTA

Tale of the tape

Harry Newman

Age: 23

SL Debut: Vs Wigan Warriors 21.07.2017

Leeds Record: 76 appearances, 25 tries, 2 goals

International Record: 3 England appearances, 1 try

Fresh of the back of signing a new contract at the club, Newman is one of a number of threats that the Rhinos can utilise across its backline coming into the 2024 campaign. Alongside England international Ash Handley, Tongan David Fusitu'a, who has tries in his last five games of 2023, and new face Paul Momirovski on the edges, Newman brings speed and strong running to the table, as well as tries.

Although he has had his battle with injuries in recent years, the England international looks to put it behind him with a big season ahead in 2024.

Tim Lafai

Age: 32

SL Debut: Vs Castleford Tigers 11.02.2022

Salford Record: 45 appearances, 12 tries

International Record: 18 Samoa caps, 9 tries, 7 goals

In his third season as a Red Devil, Samoan Tim Lafai has proved to be one of the club's best captures under head coach Paul Rowley.

Having come across to Super League on a year's deal, his impressive debut campaign led to the centre being offered a deal that sees him wear red and black until the end of 2025. His connection with the Salford spine and ability to break down the edge has set up plenty of tries over the last two years, and with Nene Macdonald, Ethan Ryan and David Nofoaluma coming into the fold for 2024, he is one to watch in particular on Friday night.

Having represented his country in the World Cup Final two years ago, Lafai draws from further experience in the NRL with St George Illawarra and Canterbury, where he played over 170 combined games.

2023 review

Handy at keeping the ball alive

Both Newman and Lafai were renowned last season for their amount of offloads in the Super League, with the Salford man edging out Newman by 41 to 39. 

Newman was nine offloads clear of Leeds' next best offloader, which was Rhyse Martin with 29, as he averaged two offloads per game. To put that in more context, Newman played nine games less than Martin and compared to the four players that finished above him, he played eight games less that Hull KR's Shaun Kenny-Dowall, 12 games less than Toby King and 13 less than top offloader Jack Welsby. 

Lafai played only three more games than Newman over the course of the 2023 Super League season but finished two offloads behind Robin Kenny-Dowall. Over the last two years in Salford colours, he has produced 95 offloads, particularly finishing the 2022 season as the competition's clear leader in the metric with 54.

Picking off a pass

Leeds and Salford benefited the most out of any team in Super League from interceptions as they scored four tries after stealing the ball last season. In particular, no player made more intercepts last season than Harry Newman, who stole the ball five times and memorably scored two tries from intercepting Harry Smith in a 40-18 win over Wigan on the road.

???? ?? ? ??????...

Harry Newman leads the fightback for Leeds against Wigan!
— Leeds Rhinos (@leedsrhinos) May 13, 2023

Lafai on the other hand contributed one last season, but looking further back to his 2024 season, he made four interceptions. Former wing partner Ken Sio finished last season with the most interceptions by a Salford player, matching Newman's five.

Have an eye for the try line

Due to time off the field since 2020, Newman got his highest try total last season since he recorded nine tries in 22 games in 2019. In all competitions last year he crossed the try line six times, including on his return to action against Wakefield in round four. Off the back of getting his first international try for England too, he will hope to find the try line a few more times over the next eight months.

Lafai finished 2023 as Salford's fourth-highest try scorer with five, along with winger partner Deon Cross. He opened his season account with two in a dominant 60-14 result against Hull FC, plus he scored two out of three tries when the Rhinos visited the Salford Stadium towards the end of the year. Including all competitions, he took that total up to six with a try against Hull KR in a Betfred Challenge Cup Quarter Final defeat.

That total takes him up to 12 in total for the club, having crossed six times in 25 games in 2022. An interesting stat is that his number of try assists interestingly decreased from 14 in 2022 to just one last year.

Save £3 by buying your match tickets today!

The best way to see the Rhinos in action at AMT Headingley in 2024 is to get a match ticket or Rhinos membership!

Ticket prices start at £25 for adults, £20 for concessions and £13 for juniors, with prices rising by £3 on matchdays.

To buy tickets go to tickets.therhinos.co.uk or call the ticket office on 0371 423 1315. Opening hours: Monday-Friday 10am-4pm (excluding Bank Holidays). Tickets also available to purchase from Leeds Rhinos Club Shop at AMT Headingley Stadium (CLICK HERE to check opening hours before travelling).