Rick Stone will look to fit-again Daniel Smith to plug some of the sizeable gap left by newly-retired Giants prop Eorl Crabtree.
The 34-year-old announced yesterday he had been forced to quit through injury and will take up an ambassadorial role with his hometown club.
With Crabtree, half-back/hooker Kyle Wood and front-row forward Josh Johnson having all departed the Super League 2017 squad over the past week, head coach Stone may look to use some of the newly-available cash to bring in some fresh pack faces.
But the Australian chief will also hope the 23-year-old Smith can step up to fill some of the Crabtree void after missing virtually all of last season with a serious foot injury.
“Eorl’s clearly going to be a difficult bloke to replace. He’s been absolute fantastic for this club over many years,” said Stone.
“In his absence, we’ll be looking for everyone else to step up, and for Daniel Smith to hopefully start challenging for a spot in the first 17 again.
“The injury Daniel suffered was a pretty significant one and he’s had a very tough time of it.
“But he was back in full training with us for the final couple of weeks of last season and he’s already back doing early pre-season work at the club with some of the younger boys.
“After being out injured for so long (he picked it up at Leeds on March 4) it’s clearly going to take him a little time to get back up to speed.
“To be honest, I’ve yet to see him play, but everyone who has says he’s got a lot of ability and can be a good asset for us.
“Hopefully, it won’t take him too long to prove that.”
