GIANTS coach Nathan Brown is hoping his full-strength squad will rise to the occasion and give him an immediate Super League XVI selection headache.
Huddersfield travel to face St Helens’ strongest available side in the clubs’ final pre-season clash at Widnes tomorrow (3.00).
Brown has named a 20-man squad for the trip, with Andy Raleigh – who has not been cleared to play because of a badly cut eye – and Danny Kirmond two notable absentees.
But new signings and rising stars Jon Molloy and Joe Wardle, along with half-back Kyle Wood, have been included.
And Brown is looking for all 20 to impress against Saints and put themselves firmly in the frame for the Super League opener against Warrington in Cardiff as part of the Magic Weekend on February 12.
“The blokes who are in the 20 are there for a reason,” said Brown.
“They’ve earned the right to be in this squad, and now they’ve got to earn the right to be in the 17 for the game against Warrington.
“Hopefully, they will all go out there and make it as tough as it possibly can for me to leave them out for when the real stuff starts.
“Fortunately, we know we’re going to be up against a very strong Saints side, so it’ll be a good gauge to how everyone’s shaping up.”
Saints: Wellens, Gardner, Shenton, Soliola, Meli, Pryce, Roby, Graham, Puletua, Wilkin, Flannery, Moore, McCarthy-Scarsbrook, Clough, Wheeler, Ashurst, Dixon, Lomax, Foster, Armstrong.
Giants: Brough, Brown, Crabtree, Cudjoe, Fa’alogo, Faiumu, Gilmour, D Griffin, Grix, Hodgson, Horne, Lawrence, Lunt, Mason, McGillvary, Molloy, O’Donnell, Patrick, Wardle, Wood.
Referee: Steve Ganson.
