Paul Anderson will send his injury-hit Huddersfield Giants into home action against Widnes on Sunday fully expecting to win.
While the Vikings have made a strong start to their season, with two Super League XXI victories from their opening three top-flight fixtures – including a stunning 56-12 home triumph over champions Leeds 12 days ago – Huddersfield’s early-season woes have been well chronicled.
But even though eight senior players will again be missing for this weekend’s John Smith’s Stadium showdown, Anderson has complete faith in the 17 who’ll take to the field as they look to break their 2016 competitive duck at the third attempt.
“We may be short on numbers, but I wouldn’t see a win for us at this stage as being a bonus,” said Anderson, whose side was beaten 30-16 at St Helens in the opening round and then suffered a heartbreaking 18-13 home defeat to Wigan a fortnight ago.
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“It wouldn’t be a bonus because I expect us to win the game, it’s as simple as that.
“As far as I’m concerned, it doesn’t matter how old you are, how young you are, how experienced you are or how good you are – the key to success is making sure you’re prepared to give everything you possibly can for the benefit of the team.
“Being committed to that cause makes you hard to beat, as we showed against Wigan the other week (the Warriors needed a 77th-minute try to deny the Giants a victory many felt their efforts deserved).
“If we’re hard to play against, we’ll be hard to beat, and that approach will get us our win this weekend.”
