PROUD Giants coach Jon Sharp today praised the fitness of his players after watching his squad destroy Castleford Tigers 36-0 at the McAlpine on Friday night.

Apart from the broken leg suffered by scrum half Paul White in the second half of a highly encouraging Super League pre-season clash, Sharp's squad emerged from the contest injury free.

Stanley Gene (fractured cheekbone) and Brandon Costin (shoulder) both looked to be back to full fitness after undergoing major surgery before the end of last season.

Tough prop Jim Gannon also produced a massive performance following a minor knee operation two months ago, while Paul Reilly was again in top form after going under the knife to repair an ankle injury.

And new Halifax recruit, centre Stuart Donlan, had a big game in his first competitive match for six months following surgery on a badly damaged thumb.

But with the rest of the squad also looking fit and sharp, the new Giants boss was full of praise for all those who had made it possible.

"It was only down to a lot of hard work that the boys looked in such good shape for this time of the year," said Sharp, who visited White in hopsital over the weekend.

"A lot of that has to be down to the efforts of our conditioner Jason Davidson, who's been working the lads really hard.

"But the lads have also been enjoying that work, as last Friday night proved.

"However, as I stated immediately after the Cas win, this doesn't mean the hard work is over.

"We've got another very important game coming up at Leeds on Sunday, and if we don't continue to work hard this week it could be a different story to Friday."