GIANTS coach Paul Anderson is looking for his side to produce their best performance of the Super League XVIII season at home to Bradford Bulls on Sunday.
And if that’s the case, it’ll help him rekindle memories of his favourite involvement as a Huddersfield coach.
The Giants have designated this weekend’s West Yorkshire derby as the fixture to celebrate everyone’s favourite rugby memories and also to support Kirklees’ dementia service ‘Making Space’.
To set the ball rolling, top Giants’ figures have been revealing their favourite moments during their time at the club.
For Anderson, that’s Huddersfield’s 2009 Challenge Cup semi-final triumph over St Helens at the Halliwell Jones Stadium, with the former Bradford prop hoping he can witness something similar this weekend!
“My favourite game was the Saints semi-final,” he recalled.
“For me as a coach it was one to remember. It was just one of those days where everything we practiced during the week seemed to click into place, both in attack and in defence.
“I was especially happy on this occasion as I was the defensive coach at the time and we had worked tirelessly earlier that week targeting specific players that would potentially cause us problems.
“I had tasked the marker play work to pay special attention to Keiron Cunningham and Leon Pryce as we recognised both of these players had a huge influence on St Helens ‘go forward’.
“I also paid special attention to James Graham as we knew he had a wide ranging skill base that could potentially break us down.
“It was satisfying to watch all of our hard work on these small skills pay off over the 80 minutes.
“I guess a great example of how we prepared and how it ‘came together’ was the try scored just after half time.
“We went into the game with a planned set move from a scrum. We had recognised that the St Helens full back, Paul Wellens defended on the wing leaving a very difficult section behind their defensive line from a scrum to protect.
“We planned to capitalise on this opportunity by lobbing a perfectly-placed kick directly into that area. Like a script this opportunity arose.
“We kicked-off the second half and Saints made a mistake near their line. The planned scrum move was called and the team prepared.
“Paul Wellens took his position on their wing and the space and opportunity became available to deliver the play.
“The scrum went down, the ball came out into the backs and our entire attacking line pressed forward. The kick was placed perfectly for a steaming Leroy Cudjoe to come flying through and score the try.
“This set the tone for the rest of the game as the lads went on with the job and guaranteed our place at Wembley. It was a day to remember.”
