NEW signing David Hodgson believes the competition for places in the Giants’ squad will help improve him as a player.
The 26-year-old Great Britain winger will be expecting to start next season on one side of the field, with Rod Jensen on the other.
But the Hull-born former Wigan, Salford and Halifax ace knows that when Martin Aspinwall, right, returns to action – around March time next year following a knee reconstruction – the pressure will be on to earn a wing spot.
And with Chris Thorman, Jamahl Lolesi, Shane Elford and fellow new recruit Paul Whatuira also battling for a start in the back line, Hodgson knows competition for places will be fierce.
But he admits that’s one of the reason he chose to join the Giants on a four-year contract.
“I was chatting with (fellow new signing) Luke Robinson the other day, and we were both saying how much competition there’s going to be to get into the starting line-up,” said Hodgson.
“We both know we can’t take our selection for granted.
“I’ve got a lot of players who can cover wing or full-back, which are my main positions.
“And Luke knows that, besides Kevin Brown, Chris Thorman is a very capable half-back, even though he’s spent this season playing at full-back.
“This is something we never really experienced at Salford, and that’s probably one of the reasons we were relegated.
“If we’d had a bad performance there were very little other options available to us.
“But it’s not going to be the case at the Giants.
“Whoever starts the season knows they will have to stay at their best or else someone else will step in.
“That’s a way of making sure you always play at your best, and that’s bound to help you improve as a player.”
Although moving to a new club is always a daunting prospect, Hodgson is sure he will soon feel at home at Huddersfield.
Last year he worked with Jon Sharp as part of the Great Britain set-up and is one of six former Wigan junior players at the Giants.
On top of that, he has been a teammate of Chris Thorman with Great Britain and Eorl Crabtree and Darrell Griffin at England.
“I’ve got some great mates at the Giants and that’s one of the reasons I’ve come here,” he added.
“We’ve got a great squad.”
