Gary Haigh has revealed the Australians had full respect for the Huddersfield Giants’ England World Cup stars.
And he has also been told by Kangaroos legend Andrew Johns that Chris Bailey will prove a top Huddersfield signing.
Leroy Cudjoe and Brett Ferres were both in the starting line-up in England’s hard-fought 28-20 opening group defeat to Australia in Cardiff.
Both men produced solid displays that day, with Haigh admitting that didn’t go unnoticed.
“The Australians were impressed with what Leroy and Brett did,” he said. “They thought Brett was a very tough competitor, while they took steps to make sure they did what they could to contain Leroy.
“There was no doubt they had a lot of respect for both of them.
“And they also felt England would have been a lot more effective if Danny Brough had been playing stand-off.
“If it was down to them, the half-back pairing would have been Danny and Gareth Widdop from the start.
“I also had a chat with Joey Johns when he met up with the Australia camp, and he told me that in Chris Bailey the Giants have made a class signing.”
