Adamson clings to final dream

Matt Adamson is desperate to play for Leeds in the Powergen Challenge cup final at Cardiff later this month despite fracturing his cheekbone early in Saturday's semi-final victory over St Helens. The Rhinos' chief executive, Gary Hetherington, said that the surgery on the injury on Sunday had been successful.

"He is desperately keen to play in the final,'' he said. "He has never played in a major final, despite being one of the top players in Australia and he has been a great influence in getting us to this one. But it is only 12 days away and it has got to be more of a hope than a reality."

Another of the Leeds' Australians, Chris McKenna, will also miss Thursday's game at Castleford with a knock picked up in the semi-final. Wigan had better news of their Great Britain full back, Kris Radlinski, who was carried off with a neck injury during Sunday's semi-final defeat to Bradford and taken to hospital.

Radlinski is thought only to be suffering from the effect of whiplash, but he is one of 10 players who could miss his club's next game, against St Helens on Good Friday.

"It's the worst injury crisis I've ever suffered as a coach,'' said Stuart Raper, who will have to call up players from his Academy side for the derby.

The Rugby League has hailed the experiment of playing both semi-finals as a weekend double-header at Huddersfield as a success and will consider repeating it, either there or elsewhere in future years.

The Halifax hooker, Gareth Greenwood, is in danger of being sacked by the club after being convicted of causing grievous bodily harm in an incident outside a nightclub.

Nathan Brown, the coach of the Australian club St George Illawarra, has been fined £1,900 by the National Rugby League for slapping one of his own players, the Test stand-off Trent Barrett, during a match.

Warrington have declined to confirm that they were holding talks yesterday with the former St Helens centre Scott Gibbs about a possible return to rugby league. The Wolves expect to have Lee Briers back in action over their Easter programme.