Rick Stone is looking for Ryan Brierley to lead the Huddersfield Giants by example at Batley Bulldogs on Sunday and guarantee an immediate return for senior half-back Danny Brough can’t be taken for granted.
Brierley stepped into the suspended Brough’s stand-off role at home to Featherstone Rovers last weekend and was at the heart of the big 62-16 Middle 8s triumph.
Brough is sitting out the second of a two-match ban for the illegal use of the elbow in the 34-12 defeat at Salford and will be available for the home clash against London Broncos on Friday, September 2.
But Giants coach Stone is looking to Brierley to come up with a performance at Mount Pleasant this weekend which will leave him with a painful half-back selection headache over the next few weeks.
“His performance against Featherstone was his best since I’ve been here,” said Stone.
“There are still one or two areas in his game that we need to work on, and making those improvements are obviously what we’re asking him to do.
“But he’s certainly taking some steps in the right direction, and the more he gets his hands on the footy, the better he’ll be.
“There’s no doubt he’s a great support player, and he’s great at sniffing out any half-chance. With his speed you know he’ll take full advantage of it.
“And being back in the side last week and playing well meant he’s happy within himself right now.
“I want him to take advantage of that fact and play even better at Batley tomorrow, because that would certainly give us food for thought for the next game against London Broncos, when Broughy will be available again.”
