PAUL ANDERSON is preparing the Huddersfield Giants to be as physical as possible.

His vastly under-performing side host in-form Super League side Catalan Dragons at the John Smith’s Stadium on Sunday (3.00).

Although the highly-respected French have been praised for their flamboyance, the fiery Dragons also play with a lot of aggression.

But Anderson has thrown down the gauntlet to his players to do everything they can to win the physical battle to help lay a match-winning platform.

“If you ask me what sort of game I’m expecting on Sunday, that’s simple. A very, very physical one,” predicted the new head coach, whose side is still smarting from Sunday’s heavy 46-12 defeat at St Helens.

“At Saints, we just didn’t aim up physically.

“The amount of rucks we lost at the beginning of the game put us on the back foot. That meant Saints were able to run hard and cause us a lot of problems.

“So, offensively, starting to control the ruck again is something we’re trying to address. We want to see some big improvements in that area this week.

“And we obviously want to see some big improvements defensively as well. Our defence is something we have to address.

“We know what Catalan’s strengths are, but the key for us is not to think too much about what they’re doing.

“If we focus on what we’re doing and show improvements in all areas, we know we’ll start to give ourselves a chance again. That’s our challenge.”

Anderson has already hinted at making one or two changes to his line-up this weekend, with three-quarters Jermaine McGillvary (shoulder) and Aaron Murphy (ankle) looking to return following injury.

“Jerry returned to full training on Wednesday and Aaron was back with us yesterday,” revealed Anderson.

“So there’s a fair chance they could feature this weekend, although there are quite a few things that need to be decided before we make that final choice. The squad came out of the Saints game in fairly reasonable shape, so those who miss out on Sunday will be out due to their performance.”

Huddersfield’s Under 18s host Castleford Tigers in a re-arranged Valvoline Academy clash at Huddersfield YMCA tomorrow (2.00).