NEW Huddersfield Giants signing Aaron Murphy is hoping his first-half performance at Halifax was enough to earn him a Super League XVII call at Wigan Warriors on Sunday.
The 23-year-old former Wakefield Trinity Wildcats utility back produced an accomplished display at full-back as a young Huddersfield side suffered a heavy 58-6 pre-season defeat against full-strength Fax.
It was the first time Murphy had worn the claret and gold after missing the first three trial games after undergoing wrist surgery at the end of last season.
But after coming through the first half at The Shay unscathed and then being withdrawn, Murphy is hoping that means he has done more than enough to catch head coach Nathan Brown’s eye ahead of the trip to the DW Stadium.
“I’m just keeping my fingers crossed, but I did feel it went well the other day,” said Murphy.
“I felt a bit rusty for the first 10 minutes, which is what you expect when it’s your first game, and I began to settle into it.
“My fitness levels felt good and the wrist wasn’t giving me any problems at all.
“To be honest, I’d have been more than happy carrying on in the second half, but the plan was always for me to get 40 minutes under my belt and take it from there.
“I’m just hoping the fact they kept me back means I’ve got a chance of playing next weekend.
“As I said, I’m really pleased with my levels of fitness at the moment. The hard work I put in during my time in rehabilitation looks to have paid off and I feel in good shape to step up, if I get the nod.”
But Murphy knows he can’t take a place in the squad for granted, with Brown having a full-strength three-quarter line at his disposal.
“There’s obviously a lot of injuries in the forwards, but it’s a totally different matter in the backs,” he added.
“I knew when I signed here that there’d be massive competition for places, and that’s very much the case for me right now. I know I can’t take anything for granted.”
