LEEDS’ England centre Kallum Watkins says the Challenge Cup draw has added “extra spice” to today’s Super League showdown between the leaders and reigning champions St Helens.

Top spot will be up for grabs at Headingley, with just three rounds left before the split into the Super 8s, and there is also the chance to strike a psychological blow ahead of the cup semi-final between the two superpowers at the end of the month.

“It is always a huge game between us and Saints. We have got a lot of history, we’ve been in a lot of finals together and experienced a lot of moments that people won’t forget,” said Watkins.

“It’s a huge game in terms of the league and having that extra spice of knowing we have got them in the semis of the cup as well so it should be an interesting game.”

St Helens went back to the top of the table in June after posting a four-match winning run but they will have painful memories of their last visit into Yorkshire when they went down to a last-minute defeat by Castleford.

The race for the League Leaders’ Shield is too tight to call, however, and Saints hooker James Roby said that the new league structure was “definitely working.”