Nathan Brown expects Huddersfield Giants to be at their very best

NATHAN BROWN will expect the Giants to play to their full potential at Hull FC on Sunday (12.30) – and not just because he’s agreed to remain as head coach until the end of next season.

The Australian ended weeks of speculation by signing a 12-month contract extension two days ago.

His decision is expected to give his players a huge lift ahead of the KC Stadium clash against the rapidly-improving black and whites.

But Brown doesn’t feel his news should be central to how well his side plays this weekend.

“I don’t think my decision should have a bearing at all on events this Sunday,” said Brown.

“Whether I was staying or going, this was always a game where we knew we were going to have to play well.

“We’ve worked hard to get to second in the table, and we know we’re going to have to dig deep to keep hold of it.

“Even though Hull haven’t made the greatest start to the season, our respect for the opposition is very high.

“Talent has never been a problem for them. They’ve got a bucket-load of good players and in the past five or six weeks they have started to play to their potential.

“Although we did well to beat a good Catalan side in the Challenge Cup the other day, we’re aware we’re going to have to do a lot better this weekend.

“We had a number of players that day who didn’t play to the level we expect, and you usually can’t get away with that at Super League level. We don’t want to see a repeat of that.

“And there are also a few small parts of our defence where we’re letting ourselves down.

“If we can fix these up we know we’ll put ourselves in a pretty strong position.”

Brown has still to finalise his side for Sunday’s trip, with several players carrying slight knocks which may cause them to sit the game out.

They will undergo fitness tests during tomorrow’s final training run-through.

But with forwards David Fa’alogo (hamstring) and Andy Raleigh (neck) fit to return, the Galpharm chief knows he isn’t short of options.

“David’s obviously a top performer, while Andy was putting in some very good displays for us before he suffered his latest injury,” added Brown.

“It’s always reassuring when you’ve got players of this quality ready to step in.

“But there’s still a bit of concern over Jamie Simpson, who’s still a couple of weeks away from playing again with a shoulder problem.”