Five Huddersfield Giants will play for Batley in the traditional Heavy Woollen Boxing Day derby at Dewsbury Rams next Thursday.

Rising stars Pete Aspinall, Ben Blackmore, Jake Connor, Josh Johnson and Nathan Mason have all been made available to Bulldogs boss John Kear for the eagerly-awaited clash (noon) and have been promised gametime.

And Giants head coach Paul Anderson believes this is just the sort of test all five players need at this stage of their pre-season work.

“They’ve all faced a fair slog in training already, and I know they’re all looking forward to getting back out onto the field,” said Anderson.

“They were back for pre-season work a lot earlier than the senior blokes, so it’ll be interesting to see how they fair in this sort of game.

“There’s a fantastic rivalry between these two clubs and I know it’ll be quite an intense game, even though it’s pre-season.

“And playing in a game like that won’t do the boys any harm at all.

“What roles they’ll play is down to John. All we do is make them available to him to play them as he thinks fit.

John Kear
John Kear

“At this stage, I’m just pleased they’re all going to get a game.”

It will be utility back Jake Connor’s first game since impressing for the Giants in their narrow semi-final play-off defeat at Warrington three months ago, while there will be a lot of interest in how winger Blackmore fares after a top pre-season.