Joe Wardle is relishing the chance to do battle with Leeds Rhinos in his new Huddersfield Giants role.
The 23-year-old strike centre has taken his position in Huddersfield’s back row in the last two games by storm.
Vital Super League XX victories were secured on both occasions – at home to Catalans Dragons and away to Hull FC last Friday night – with Wardle having made his switch with relative ease.
And last season’s Giants Player of the Year would love to make it a hat trick of triumphs as a forward against leaders Leeds in what promises to be a full-blooded John Smith’s Stadium derby duel tomorrow night (8.00).
“It’s a bit different being with all the big men in the forwards!” said the Scotland international.
“But it’s not too much of a worry for me though, it’s part and parcel of the game.
“To be honest, I quite liking playing there, because it gets me involved in the game a bit more, and if I can keep playing there we’ll see how we go in the long-term.
“I’ve always played in the backs, but I’m really enjoying this new challenge.
“So far, it couldn’t have gone that much better, particularly as we’ve won both games I’ve played in since the switch.
“Obviously, it’s going to be even tougher tonight against Leeds. They’re top of the table, and that’s no fluke, they’re a quality side.
“But we know we can beat them.
“Having the best defence in the competition does give us a lot of confidence when we take to the field. That’s what we’ve been working on, we’ve been basing our game on having a good defence.
“If we can prevent teams from scoring it gives us a chance of keeping hold of the ball and then scoring points ourselves, so it’s really important to us.
“Unfortunately, we’re still making far too many errors with ball in hand, and when we sort that out we’ll be even harder to beat.
“Hopefully, we’ll have sorted that out for the Leeds game tomorrow night.”
