Simon Woolford says Huddersfield Giants can’t afford any slip-ups as they bid to hold onto a top-eight Super League place at Hull KR.
The Giants have had a break since recording their fifth straight victory of late, 26-25 against Catalans Dragons, so Woolford says there can be no excuses for not being fully prepared.
He’s named young second-rower Sam Hewitt in the squad in place of injured Dale Ferguson and Danny Brough serves the final match in his three-game suspension.
The Giants are boosted by the fitness of Ollie Roberts, however, and the form of England wingman Jermaine McGillvary and Woolford feels the club have used their off-time well.
“I’m taking the ‘glass half full’ route and saying the break has been good for us – but I will confirm that on Friday night!” said the coach, who is in talks with NRL duo Jackson Hastings and Akuila Uate about moves to the Giants.
"The way we started the season, we can’t afford any slip-ups"
“We’ve worked really hard over the last month and got some good results, so it was a good opportunity after the Catalans match to give the guys a few days off.
“We then did a couple of tough sessions towards the end of last week and, since Monday, we’ve fallen into our usual schedule for a Friday-night game.
“So there can be no excuses.
“The break certainly hasn’t harmed us, that’s for sure.
“And the way we started the season, we can’t afford any slip-ups and each game is massive.
“The one thing we know is that we can control our own destiny and if we keep preparing well and playing well, I’m confident we can get enough results to make sure we’re in that top eight come the end of the rounds.”
Woolford has been amused by the amount of sun screen being applied by some of his players – note Matty England and Oliver Russell particularly! – during training in the hot weather, but he says the players are again ready for the serious business of battling for points.
“It’s only natural to look at the table and keep a check on where you’re at, and we’ve got ourselves in a decent positions considering where we were six weeks ago,” said Woolford.
“Thankfully we can control our own destiny now, but we need to keep on top of things, keep preparing well and, if we do that, I’m confident we will keep improving.”
