Upbeat coach Paul Anderson knows the Huddersfield Giants must make the most of having a squad in good shape for their home Super 8s clash against wounded Castleford Tigers next Thursday.

While Huddersfield went into this weekend’s break on the back of their battling 28-22 triumph at St Helens, the Tigers were suffering a 44-26 defeat at Catalans Dragons.

As well as slipping to fifth in the table, Castleford also picked up a number of knocks during the course of a bruising contest, with skipper Michael Shenton suffering a dislocated shoulder and Ashley Gibson forced off with a neck injury in the challenge which has subsequently earned Catalans centre Ben Pomeroy a six-game ban.

Although it’s hoped Gibson will be fit to resume against the Giants, the prospects don’t look good for Shenton – “Michael’s injury is pretty bad news,” was head coach Daryl Powell’s assessment of the situation.

Nathan Massey (ankle) and Ben Roberts (head) also picked up knocks in the South of France, although having a free weekend because of Saturday’s Challenge Cup final could give them enough time to recover for the trip to the John Smith’s Stadium.

But whatever shape the Tigers are in, Anderson is well aware they could prove a big threat if they are taken lightly.

“We’re looking in pretty decent shape right now. Brett Ferres (bicep) and Kyle Wood (ankle) are the only two who aren’t available to play,” said the Giants boss.

“After the weekend break, the squad has come back in good spirits – and rightly so – after the win at Saints.

“Our challenge now is to make sure we make the most of the opportunity we’ve given ourselves by winning last Thursday (moving up to third with four fixtures remaining) and do what we have to do to beat Castleford next week and keep on progressing.

“We know Cas will be hurting after suffering what was a bad loss at Catalans. They’re a lot better than they showed that day, and they’ll be wanting to prove that against us, that’s for sure.

“They’re also a bit busted after that game.

“So it’s up to us to focus on what we do well and make sure we don’t give them any chance of finding an immediate positive response.

“The way we can do that is to keep focusing on the importance of this game to ourselves and preparing as well as we possibly can.

“We’ve come back in and taken part in a nice skills session and been light-hearted in what we’ve done.

“But we’ll start to build up for Castleford to make sure we’re ready by Thursday.”