Wednesday 26 April 2017 13:15, UK
There's a west Yorkshire derby live on Sky Sports 3 this Thursday, but will it be in-form Leeds or struggling Huddersfield who take the spoils at Headingley?
It's second against 11th in the league, but will the Giants be looking to make a statement after their shock loss to Swinton in the Challenge Cup?
Here are three key head to heads...
Matt Parcell v Ryan Hinchcliffe
What a revelation Matt Parcell has been for the Rhinos. The James Segeyaro saga dominated their off season, but his replacement has ensured Leeds haven't missed their former No 9 at all.
A livewire from dummy half, Parcell has seven tries for the Rhinos so far this season, while also providing seven try assists. He's formed a good partnership with his front-rower Adam Cuthbertson and profits well from his offloads.
Parcell has made 72 runs from dummy half, the most in the whole of Super League, and has five clean breaks to his name - but it's not all about his attacking threat.
Parcell is Leeds' top tackler, making 409 hits so far, behind only Jon Wilkin in the entire competition.
Brian McDermott will be delighted with the form of his hooker and will need him to continue in similar fashion if Leeds are to compete in the business end of the season.
For Huddersfield, Ryan Hinchcliffe returns to the squad after missing that defeat to Swinton, and they need their Australian hooker to step up.
He's led the side in 2017 on occasion with Leroy Cudjoe having spent time on the sidelines, but hasn't always started in his favoured dummy half position; he's been on the bench twice and has also played lock forward three times, with youngster Kruise Leeming breathing down his neck.
But Hinchcliffe has started the last four Super League games back in the No 9 shirt. However, his stats are way down on Leeming's. He's made less tackles (376 to 362), less metres (738m to 626m), and less runs from dummy half (71 to 23).
Rick Stone needs the former Melbourne Storm man and NRL winner to hit his top form to help the Giants improve.
Danny McGuire v Danny Brough
It's 400 up for Danny McGuire in Leeds colours, but despite reaching that landmark figure for appearances, the captain has already admitted he doesn't know where his future lies next year. If that means retirement, then the Rhinos have extra motivation this campaign, to help send him out with a bang.
McGuire is still the linchpin of the Leeds attack, topping the assists charts with nine, and the Rhinos certainly struggled in attack on the opening night of the season with the skipper missing, scoring just once against St Helens.
Gone are the days of McGuire poaching tries from his sensational support play, but he brings a more mature outlook to the side now - his 42 attacking kicks are 32 more than any other teammate.
And with Joel Moon now his regular half-back partner, the majority of the organisation falls on McGuire's shoulders. Now can he lead his side to silverware in 2017?
It's been a difficult season for Danny Brough. So long the heartbeat of this Giants side, he's not had things his own way in 2017.
The half-back has had to endure rumours over his future and was banned for punching after the last time these two sides met, clashing with Carl Ablett in an incident that saw him sent to the sin bin. He'll need to keep his discipline at Headingley on Thursday night.
Brough also missed a touchline conversion against Warrington that would have snatched a point for his side over the Easter period.
It's not been all bad though. He's still got nine try assists to his name, the most of any Huddersfield player, and the fifth best in all of Super League; only one less than the red-hot Luke Gale.
Brough carries so much responsibility in this side, especially organising the attack, and his 75 attacking kicks are 48 more than half-back partner Lee Gaskell. He is capable of kicking sides to death and has damaged Leeds with that left boot in the past. Expect a big performance on Thursday.
Ryan Hall v Jermaine McGillvary
We're seeing something like the old version of Ryan Hall in 2017 - he's back to doing what he does best: scoring tries. Six so far this year makes him Leeds' third highest scorer, and Wayne Bennett has recognised that form, naming him, along with team-mate Kallum Watkins, as one of two Rhinos representatives in the England side to face Samoa.
Hall is also known for his strong carries from the back and he's upped his game in that respect since last year. His 1220 metres from 164 carries at an average gain of 7.44m per drive shows his power, and he's also made seven clean breaks, the most of any Rhino.
Hall no longer has Joel Moon inside him, and has had three different centres in three Super League games - Stevie Ward, Liam Sutcliffe and Jimmy Keinhorst. But the winger looks like the player we all know can threaten any defence in the competition on his day. Will he find the line against Huddersfield?
Opposite Hall on Thursday night is his England team-mate Jermaine McGillvary. He's long been considered one of Huddersfield's class acts, and despite their poor form in 2017, the winger already has seven tries to his name. That's ensured another England call-up from Wayne Bennett for the Samoa game.
McGillvary missed the embarrassing defeat to Swinton last weekend, so he should be fit and firing come Thursday night. As always, his stats with ball-in-hand are excellent; 1310 metres from 155 carries at an average gain of 8.45m per drive.
All of those figures are superior to Hall, the man he'll go head to head with on Thursday. Those stats includes 28 tackle busts and six breaks, showing just what a threat McGillvary is from his wing position.
If his team-mates can up their game in the middle, expect the winger to keep finishing off the moves on the outside.
Watch Leeds v Huddersfield live on Sky Sports 3 from 7.30pm on Thursday.
