GIANTS fans are about to find out exactly how much Super League character their team possesses.
A run of five defeats in seven games has cast serious doubts over the Giants' ability to maintain a top six play-off challenge.
Four of those reverses have come in the past month over top teams Bradford, St Helens, Wigan and Hull.
But with all four defeats having come after conceding at least 40 points, the pressure is on to buck the trend.
A home game on Sunday against a Widnes side who have won just four of their 17 League matches and sacked coach Neil Kelly in the wake of Saturday's 56-8 home defeat to Wigan would appear to be the ideal fixture for the Giants to get their campaign back on track.
But with a tough clash at Hull last Sunday, followed by the big 50-8 loss to St Helens two days ago, nothing can be taken for granted.
Giants head coach Jon Sharp admits his players are battle-scarred as a result of such a punishing schedule and injuries to key players have hit his side hard.
But victory this Sunday could help signal a potential return to early-season form, particularly with several key players closing in on returns following long-term injuries.
Sharp admits, however, that in light of his side's recent poor results, his squad will need to dig deep.
"We've again picked up a number of bumps and bruises after playing on Wednesday night," reported Sharp.
"As a result, it means we won't finalise our side until the very last minute.
"But whichever 17 players play, they know they have to dig deep and get us back on track.
"We've just completed a very heavy schedule, with matches against some of the top sides in the competition.
"It's now a case of picking up the pace and trying to finish the season in the best possible shape we can.
"Although our recent win-loss record hasn't been great, we're still in the top six and want to stay there."
Huddersfield Giants: Reilly, Donlan, Evans, Nero, St Hilaire, O'Hare, Gene, Costin, White, Gannon, Penkywicz, Crabtree, Fleary, Jones, Smith, Roarty, Joseph, Morrison, Grayshon, Whittaker.
Widnes Vikings: Weston, Royle, Moule, Hughes, Giles, O'Neill (Jules), Peters, Mills, Millard, O'Neill (Julian), McCurrie, Frame, Hobson, Bird, Wozniak, Johnson, Finnigan, Wood.
Referee: Karl Kirkpatrick (Warrington).
