HUDDERSFIELD will be hoping Carnegie Challenge Cup winners Warrington will be suffering a hangover this weekend.
They won the Cup for the third time in four years last weekend with a convincing 35-18 win over Leeds.
In 2010, the Wolves ran away with the crown by beating Leeds 30-6 and the previous year saw them break the Giants’ hearts, beating them 25-16.
Their playing roster is one of the best Super League has to offer and there doesn’t seem to be a weak position within their team the Giants could exploit.
Particularly dangerous players they do boast include international three quarter pairing Ryan Atkins and Joel Monaghan, who are two of the most deadly finishers in the competition.
In the forwards there is the same depth of quality, chief among them being England trio Adrian Morley, Garreth Carvell and Ben Westwood, who all provide sufficient grunt to trouble any team.
But their greatest packman this season has to be Chris Hill, who is the front runner for the coveted Albert Goldthorpe Rookie of the Year award after his close-season switch from Leigh has seen his remarkable rise to providence.
Coach Paul Anderson will know their heroic Cup exploits could have taken its toll on the Warrington machine, and he will be hoping his side can take full advantage at the Halliwell Jones this Sunday.
STALWART stand-off Lee Briers has been the lynchpin in the Wolves attack for 15 years.
The former Saints half-back has been like a fine wine throughout that period, seemingly getting better with age.
His career at the top of the game looked to be over in 2008, though, with Briers linked with a move to Championship outfit Barrow.
But Tony Smith’s arrival at the club has seen Briers hit new heights and, in 2010 against Leeds, he won the Lance Todd trophy in the Challenge Cup final.
A Super League medal still alludes him, though, and he will be hoping this year he can help lead Warrington to become only the fifth team to win at Old Trafford in the Grand Final.
FORMER Huddersfield coach Tony Smith will be hoping his team keep up their momentum going into the play-offs.
Not since Daniel Anderson’s 2006 St Helens have a team done the lucrative League and Cup double – with the game’s world famous showpiece event being moved from May to August in 2007 making it extremely difficult.
But with the talent pool Australian coach Smith is able to choose from, the Wolves coach has been able to keep his team as fresh as possible by deploying a squad rotation policy that could see them going into the clash on Sunday fresher than Huddersfield expect.
