League: GB keep eye on Tri-Nations final

1.00pm - By ROBERT LOWE

LEEDS - Great Britain will field a changed side for their Tri-Nations rugby league test against New Zealand at Hull on Saturday, taking the opportunity to rest players ahead of the final the following weekend.

Coach Brian Noble today named a 19-man squad to face the Kiwis and will reveal his 17 on match day.

While Andy Farrell will skipper his country for a record-extending 28th time, Noble has chosen to give two other frontline forwards, vice-captain Paul Sculthorpe and Jamie Peacock, a spell on the sidelines.

Hooker Terry Newton and interchange forward Ryan Bailey are also missing, nursing shoulder and back injuries respectively.

Newton could have played if needed, while Bailey is expected to be available for the tournament decider against Australia in Leeds on November 27.

Noble had said earlier that he would put out his best available line-up against New Zealand, even though the contest has no bearing on the fate of the Tri-Nations title.

But he said today that the fixture at KC Stadium would be the fourth of five tough matches for Great Britain on successive weekends.

Another factor was that some players in his camp who had not featured in the series so far.

"I've said I won't give away test shirts, but those people have deserved them," Noble said.

"They've been great, they've been enthusiastic, they're very talented and we need to see how they can or cannot do at the highest level."

Noble has included three uncapped players in hookers Matt Diskin and Mickey Higham, and prop Danny Ward.

He confirmed that Diskin, man of the match for Leeds in their English Super League grand final victory over Bradford last month, would be in the starting 13.

He said both Sculthorpe and Peacock had been disappointed at being left out, but he made the decision for the good of the team.

However, Farrell, who has 32 caps after making his full international debut as an 18-year-old against the 1993 Kiwi tourists, had been difficult to rest.

"He's been inspirational for us," Noble said.

"He's been a terrific captain and everything we hoped he would be, and he wants to play. Let's not forget that this is a test match against a very committed team and we need experienced people out there."

He played down the absence from the Kiwi pack of experienced skipper Ruben Wiki and key attacker Sonny Bill Williams because of injury.

He said a forward unit that contained Nathan and Jason Cayless, Logan Swann, Ali Lauitiiti, Louis Anderson and Paul Rauhihi "will go all right".

"They'll be fired up for it and we know they'll be tough," he said.

"We know they have something to prove in that they have only one point on the board. But we've managed to raise the bar each week. While we've got some new faces in the 19, we're not expecting any lesser effort or commitment."

Noble added that the gastric virus and flu that laid low many of his players in the first three weeks of their Tri-Nations campaign had largely disappeared in the past few days.

"We've had some disease and pestilence in the camp, haven't we? But there were no frogs or locusts this week so I think we've got rid of the plague."

Great Britain (from): Paul Wellens, Brian Carney, Stuart Reardon, Paul Johnson, Martin Gleeson, Keith Senior, Chev Walker, Danny McGuire, Sean Long, Iestyn Harris, Mickey Higham, Matt Diskin, Andy Farrell (captain), Adrian Morley, Stuart Fielden, Danny Ward, Gareth Ellis, Stephen Wild, Sean O'Loughlin.

- NZPA