Paul Anderson is confident all four of his new signings will create a positive impression on their Huddersfield Giants debuts in Sunday’s opening pre-season clash against Bradford Bulls at Odsal.
Castleford duo Craig Huby and Jamie Ellis, Wigan back-rower Jack Hughes and Bradford youngster Oliver Roberts are part of a very strong Super League squad ready to tackle their Kingstone Press Championship rivals.
Giants coach Anderson has been impressed with the way the quartet have settled into their new Huddersfield life and is looking forward to seeing them in action in the claret and gold for the first time.
And besides their obvious talent, Anderson knows the addition of all four has given him a more rounded squad to cope with any potential injuries to key players.
“The four of them have fitted in very well,” said Anderson.
“They are all valuable additions to our squad and we’re looking forward to seeing them out there for the first time this weekend.
“Their arrival also gives us plenty of options, and that’s vital if we want to go on and achieve even more success.
“The first year I was here, we ran with one genuine half and one genuine nine and that was Broughy and Lunty (Shaun Lunt),” said Anderson said.
“This year we’ve added Jamie Ellis and we’ve got more depth in the key areas.
“We’ve got genuine competition for places - not one person is guaranteed an easy path into the team. We’ve got three genuine strike back-rowers, three genuine wingers and plenty of people who can play all over.
“Previously, if we lost a Danny Brough, which we did do at the back end of last year, everything fell apart a little bit, but now we’ve got Kyle Wood, Jamie Ellis and Luke Robinson who can play there. We’ve got plenty of options.”
Anderson is particularly excited by the arrival of experienced prop Huby, who ended his long association with Castleford at the end of last season.
“He’s our main signing, a real key signing,” Anderson said.
“I’ve been a fan of his for a while. We had a shot at him and managed to convince him to leave Castleford. He brings a lot of time on the field to us and a lot of experience as well.”
The new faces have replaced overseas trio Jason Chan, David Faiumu and Antonio Kaufusi, which leaves Huddersfield with only two foreign imports, Chris Bailey and Ukuma Ta’ai, the lowest number in Super League.
Anderson says the club do not have a deliberate policy to reduce their overseas quota but he is not unhappy to go down the British route.
“With the way things are at the moment with the NRL and their salary cap, it’s harder and harder to get overseas players,” added Anderson.
“The other thing is that with young British players, you know what you’re getting. They don’t need to settle and things like that.”
