Michael Lawrence is relishing the chance to win a personal duel with Gareth Hock and help the Huddersfield Giants remain on course for a top-four Super League finish.

Victory for Huddersfield over star-studded Salford Red Devils at the John Smith’s Stadium tomorrow (3.00) would make it 10 wins from their last 11 League outings and keep them in the leading pack with eight games of the regular season remaining.

At the heart of this weekend’s clash will be an eagerly-awaited pack battle, with the possibility of Lawrence and Hock going head-to-head.

And if that’s the case, the reliable Lawrence, who has now firmly established himself as a forward after beginning his career out in the centres, will savour the experience of testing himself against one of the best back-rowers in the business.

“I absolutely love playing against the biggest names in my position,” said the former Newsome Panthers junior.

“I’m still relatively new to this position and feel I’m learning all the time.

“The best way of improving is to challenge yourself against the very best, and Gareth Hock is right up there.

“To be honest, I don’t know at this stage if I’ll be playing directly against him or not, but if I do I’ll definitely enjoy the challenge, particularly if it helps us win.

“I now feel as if back-row is my No1 position. In the early days of my switch, I felt like I was a centre playing in the back row. Now it feels as if I’m a back-row forward who can play in the centre if needed.

“And when I do go out in the backs, it does seem a little strange. I just can’t believe how much space there is out there!

“But, at the end of the day, I’ll play anywhere, as long as we keep winning.”

And Lawrence is feeling confident a fifth successive Giants victory can be achieved.

“The mood around the place is pretty positive,” he added.

“We know we’re not playing well at the moment, which is clearly a negative.

“But the fact we’ve still found ways to win when we’ve been struggling to get out of second gear is pretty exciting.

“We can’t wait to hit our best form, I just hope we find it quickly.

“All being well, that’ll be this weekend against Salford.”

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