Winning is the only thing on Paul Anderson’s mind as he prepares to send his in-form Giants into play-off battle at Wigan Warriors tomorrow night.
Huddersfield embark on their bid for Super League Grand Final glory at Old Trafford next month as arguably the form team of the competition.
Having collected 19 League points from a possible 24 in their last 12 top-flight fixtures and having been unbeaten in 15 of their last 18 fixtures, the Giants will be a tough play-off nut to crack.
They also travel to face a Wigan side who haven’t beaten Huddersfield in a weekly-round game since 2012.
The Warriors did win 22-8 at the Giants in last season’s play-off series on their way to being crowned Super League champions.
But with Huddersfield having fond memories of their last two trips to the DW Stadium – they won 30-12 last season and 24-8 at the start of this – Anderson knows all of the key indicators heading into this latest meeting are all positive.
“We’re feeling positive and looking forward to all of the challenges that still lie ahead of us,” said Anderson.
“At this stage of the season, it’s all about winning, and that’s what we’ve been doing heading into the play-offs.
“It doesn’t matter how you win when it comes to the play-offs, it makes no difference if it’s a pretty one or an ugly one, we just want to win.
“And that’s what everyone intends to do on Thursday night. We’re going there to win.”
The Giants do, of course, have a second bite of the play-off cherry if they were to be beaten. That was one of the advantages for the third-placed Giants securing a top-four finish.
But Anderson would obviously prefer to have next week off and have a slightly easier route to Old Trafford on Saturday, October 11 to negotiate.
“We want to give ourselves the best possible chance of winning this competition, and winning at Wigan tomorrow night is the start of that process,” said Anderson.
“Having a second chance to qualify the following week is the last thing that will be entering our heads when this game starts.”
