After predicting Huddersfield Giants would struggle last year, Danny Brough is happy to deliver a more optimistic assessment of their prospects for 2017.
The veteran half-back warned the Giants may not make the top eight after going into last season short of players, especially when Brett Ferres left for Leeds, and his fears were realised as they finished bottom of the table at the end of the regular season.
Under new coach Rick Stone, the Giants salvaged their Super League status in the Middle 8s, with Brough’s drop goal in the nail-biting win at Hull KR proving decisive, and the Scotland skipper believes the team are better placed to challenge for the top eight in 2017.
“We’ve got a squad of 30 this year,” said Brough.
“Everybody has done the same amount of work so we’re all up to speed and hopefully ready to play.
“We got the job done at the end of last season, so we’re looking forward to a fresh start.
“There’s a lot of fresh faces and basically a new coach. We’re really looking forward to getting started. Hopefully things can gel and we don’t find ourselves in the same situation.
“I’m confident we can make the top eight, and that’s pretty much the minimum this year. The boys are doing the hard yards and getting their fitness levels up.
“The start is pretty important, we have to probably win four of our first six games to stand us in good stead.”
Brough says the team’s relegation scare will provide them with extra motivation this year and believes an improvement in their fitness levels under Stone will also help as they prepare for their opening game at Widnes tomorrow night.
“Obviously Rick kept us up and he has put his stamp on the squad this year by getting us a lot fitter than we were last year,” the 34-year-old added.
“Now we’re just getting our skills ticked off and hopefully we can put it all together and really compete this year.
“Last year hurt a hell of a lot, I’ll be honest. The pressure we put on ourselves at the back end, it’s not just yourself that feels it, it’s your friends and family because you don’t know what’s going to happen and where you’re going to be.
“It was different to what we’ve been used to and it’s something we don’t want to experience again.”
The 34-year-old had just four weeks off after helping Scotland to their famous draw with New Zealand in the Four Nations Series in November and will be in for another long stint in 2017 as he prepares to lead his country into the World Cup, but he is not complaining.
“That’s enough,” he said. “I like to keep my legs kicking over.
“I’m not really thinking about the World Cup right now.
“I want to have a decent season with the Giants, then it will be something I’m looking forward to.”
