The Huddersfield Giants head coach answers the questions put by Rugby League Writer Chris Roberts.
How’s the squad looking after the Castleford game and ahead of facing Warrington?
Everyone’s fit, healthy and raring to go.
We’ve still got Kyle Wood (broken foot) and Brett Ferres (torn bicep) in rehab, but Chris Bailey should be back with us next week.
Bails popped a rib cartilage in training during Challenge Cup final week, and last week it went again following another full contact session.
That showed the injury was worse than we first feared, but all being well he’ll be in contention for the trip to Hull next week.
In Brett’s case, we’re still very much being guided by his surgeon, although we know he is getting nearer.
All being well, we’ll get him back with the squad next week, with a view to considering him for selection at home to Leeds a week later.
So are you looking at fielding an unchanged side again this weekend?
It is an option.
We do have the scope to make changes, it’s just a case of making sure we come up with the right selection to get us the win we require.
But we do have players like Jodie Broughton, Oliver Roberts, Josh Johnson, Nathan Mason and young fellas such as Liam Johnson and Jared Simpson eager to get the chance to play.
It’s certainly a good position to be in.
How much did it please you that a lot of the tries against Castleford didn’t come through Danny Brough?
Broughy’s a great player, our captain and our talisman and a lot does go through him.
But over the last month or so we haven’t been as reliant on in.
The biggest thing during this time is the improvement we’ve seen from Jermaine McGillvary, Leroy Cudjoe, Jamie Ellis and Jack Hughes. They’ve been consistent all year, but they’re now starting to perform really strongly.
See match action from the Giants v Cas game below.
Jerry’s scoring tries for fun, Leroy’s getting the ball in his hands and making more metres than at any other time in the year, and our right-side in general is becoming more comfortable.
They still need to keep on improving, but it’s good to see the way they’ve all been performing.
And it’s also good to now be in the position where we possess threats all over the field.
As a coach, you want that balance, and never want the attack to come from just one side.
So you must have been pleased that the try of the game against Cas was scored by Jake Connor, and without Danny Brough’s assistance, down the left.
Yes, it was good to see.
Quite a few players contributed to that one, with Ukuma Ta’ai involved a couple of times.
I was delighted about that. I think Ukuma’s playing the best football since he’s been here.
He’s been one of the six or seven in the side who hasn’t missed a game all year, and his fitness levels are right up there.
After having a first full pre-season in the three years he’s been here, we’re finally starting to see the player we wanted when he signed for us.
When he first arrived, he was very, very green to England and he and his family needed some time to settle in.
And having got over that first huge hurdle, we’re seeing Ukuma producing arguably the best form of his career.
Jamie Ellis appears to be getting better as the season progresses. Do you think that’s fair to say?
Yes, he is improving all the time. He has his little battles he needs to overcome every week, but we’re definitely glad to have him. There’s no doubt he’s been a good recruit for us.
As I’ve already said, he does give us an excellent option on our right side, and having him around has also helped to take some of the pressure off Broughy.
