Paul Rowley believes Leeds Rhinos need time to adapt to life without Richie Myler as the Salford Red Devils boss prepares for the trip of the Headingley club.
Rowley's Reds are three games without a win following a promising start but host a Rhinos side that have won just one of their opening five games of the season. Part of Leeds' issues have come within their spine, with Rowley admitting the loss of Richie Myler has had an impact of the cohesion within the Rhinos side.
However, he believes better days are ahead of Richard Agar's side. Ahead of the game at the AJ Bell Stadium, Rowley commented on the Rhinos, insisting they've not been as bad as some would like to suggest.
"They played well in defeat against Warrington and have threats all over the field," Rowley said. "People are probably questioning their halfback partnership and how long that's going to take, they've lost Myler who is huge to their outcomes with his final pass, Walker is a completely different player.
"They're having to change the way they're playing a bit, you see more of Austin and Sezer swinging on the long side and Walker holding the short side because Austin and Sezer can find the last pass better than Walker as he's a runner. They're definitely having to change the way they play which is a difficult process for them and I think anyone who loses those players lose their outcomes. They're not a mile off, they're not a bad team, just not fully at their best."
Both Rowley and Agar were critical of their forward packs after their most recent defeats, and the Salford boss expects both units to issue a response that should make for a fiery contest on Friday.
"Both will have had similar chats with similar messages. He'll be hoping his does and I'll be hoping mine does. It's quite simple, there's is worth a few grand more than ours but nevertheless, being part of a pack is about commitment and intent and you would expect both coaches to expect better from their packs."
