Star-gazing York Rugby League Club players begin the scramble for second division places with a test against the international might of Leeds Rhinos.

Wasps coach Dean Robinson has named all the club's fit players for tonight's friendly with the Super League Rhinos at Huntington Stadium (7.30pm).

And he will be looking for his squad to make their mark against the likes of Great Britain stars Iestyn Harris, Barrie McDermott and Adrian Morley.

Loan signings from Hull Sharks Mark Hewitt and Jon Aston are expected to make their Wasps debuts from the substitutes bench.

There will also be first starts for Australians John Strange and Justin Aldershaw, while York-born Alex Godfrey starts his first game since signing on a one-year deal from Hull.

Prop forward Lea Tichener, also the club's commercial manager, declared the players were eager to get their rumble with the Rhinos underway.

"It is a big game for us and we are very much looking forward to it. We will be rubbing shoulders with top people in the game, who we respect. They are superstars," said Tichener.

"We are taking it as if it is a cup match. We are taking it very seriously but we will also enjoy it and savour the moment. We are playing for places and Dean has a keen eye on everybody at the moment.

"We all need to knuckle down and get stuck in. It is a chance to really impress playing against those players, some of the Great Britain players."

The Wasps board will be keeping a close eye on tonight's attendance following their plea for the missing 500 fans to return to the club and aid the survival of professional rugby league in the city.

Chief executive Phil Elliott believes 1998 is a "do or die" year for the club and failure to gain promotion and get back to gates of 1,200 could result in the closure of the club, as reported in yesterday's Evening Press.

The Rhinos, who play Halifax Blue Sox at Thrum Hall on Sunday, have added highly-rated Great Britain Academy international Terry Newton to their original squad of 19.

The majority of coach Graham Murray's Leeds squad provided the cornerstone of the Rhinos' 1997 Super League challenge, including Francis Cummins, Paul Sterling, Graham Holroyd and Martin Masella.

Harris and Morley are expected to start tonight's game among the Leeds replacements, but McDermott is likely to start in a bid to prove his fitness in his comeback from a broken leg.

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