Upbeat Ken Davy can sense the signings of top Australia NRL duo Ryan Hinchcliffe and Sam Rapira for 2016 have given the Giants squad an extra boost as they push for a top-four Super League finish in 2015.
Last month’s capture of New Zealand World Cup-winning prop Sam Rapira from New Zealand Warriors was followed by the announcement top Australian hooker Ryan Hinchliffe would be arriving from Melbourne Storm.
Both have been hailed throughout the game as top Super League signings.
And Huddersfield chairman Davy is aware of how well the news has been received among the squad as head coach Paul Anderson’s men gear up for Sunday’s home clash against Hull KR and the club’s bid for a glorious end to the campaign.
“The mood among the squad is incredibly positive at the moment,” said Davy.
“Our Super League results over the past couple of months have been as good as any club in the competition, and our magnificent win at Widnes a week ago made sure we kept hold of fourth spot with four games of the regular season remaining.
“That in itself has helped to provide such a positive feel around the club, and that’s only been enhanced by the news Joel Hinchcliffe and Sam Rapira will be joining us next season.
“They are both world-class players, who I know the current squad are already looking forward to working alongside.
“In the case of Sam, he will be awesome coming up the middle and I don’t think any opposing player will be excited about the idea of meeting him head-on and trying to tackle him.
“And Ryan’s also a top-quality player who’s strong, a great leader and very highly thought of at Melbourne Storm
“Furthermore, as a hooker, I know he will be a tremendous help to young players like Kruise Leeming, who has come into the team and really underlined the potential he possesses.
“He’s already developing into a very good player, and he’ll only get even better with someone like Ryan to learn off.”
The fact players like Leeming, Jake Connor and Jared Simpson are now coming through the club’s junior system and holding their own at Super League level shows how important it is to invest in youth.
As a result, the Huddersfield owner believes Rapira and Hinchcliffe could be the only additions to the Giants’ 2016 squad, making sure the club’s rising stars continue to have the chance to emerge from the Academy shadows.
“As a club, we are spending an enormous amount on junior development,” added Davy.
“It would be crazy to ignore the number of very talented young players we have at the Giants by bringing in too many signings.
“If we had gone down that path and recruited heavily over the past couple of years, you have to ask whether the likes of Kruise, Jake and Jared would have had this chance to show what they can do at Super League level.
“There are a number of other very talented young players in our Academy system and it will be very interesting to see who will be the next players to get their chance.
“We’re also a club who believe that it’s important to recruit quality rather than quantity, especially when we know how big an influence high-quality players can have on younger members of the squad.
“The amount up-an-coming players can learn off experienced world-class players simply can’t be underestimated.
“So it’s no just what the players can do on the field, it’s their influence off the field which is also a very important consideration.”
