Injured Briers ruled out of Keighley tie

The holders, who meet the West Yorkshire club for the third successive year at this stage of the competition and the second season in a row at Cougar Park, have included ex-Man of Steel Brett Hodgson plus England stars Richie Myler, Ryan Atkins and Garreth Carvell.

Esteemed Australian trio Joel Monaghan, brother Michael and Trent Waterhouse are also in the 19-man squad, but Lee Briers, initially expected to return after a serious neck injury, is not included having picked up a calf strain in training.

“The challenges of going to Keighley – their ground and changing rooms being different – is something we look forward to having experienced it before and now knowing a little bit more than we did last time,” said Smith.

“They are dangerous games; teams from the lower division grow a leg or two with nothing to lose and a whole lot to gain.

“We are well aware of that and have some game-time footage of Keighley. We will do our homework as we always do.

“We won’t be as familiar with the players as we are of Super League teams, there is still a bit of the unknown quantity.”