Leroy our talisman

the player that represented everything we wanted to say about the Giants,” said Stone.

“Leroy is a hometown boy and much respected throughout the squad, and we have put in place a support card to help him.

“In Danny, Ryan and Michael, we have players with plenty of experience and they will be there to take the pressure off Leroy in certain scenarios.

“In all, we have four players who have set the standards and have the respect of everyone at the club across the board.”

Former Melbourne Storm star Hinchcliffe, who is preparing for his second Super League season with the Giants, was happy to give his support to the new captain.

“The process for the captaincy has been right,” said the 32-yearold.

“I was a little bit concerned by the way it was handled for last season, but Leroy has been handed the job and he has 100 per cent support from all the players.

“He is a local boy and Leroy is one of those players you can rely upon for a good performance every week.”

Coach Stone is happy his side are shaping up nicely for the start of the new campaign, and the Giants will only be lacking new Australian signing Jake Mamo for the trip to Widnes.

New signing from Bradford Lee Gaskell and ex-New Zealand international prop Sam Rapira, who both missed the 12-0 win at Warrington Wolves in the final pre-season friendly, are in the running for the trip to Widnes.

There could also be a full debut for prop forward Shannon Wakeman, who had two short spells on the field from the bench at the Halliwell Jones Stadium.

“We are getting close and we are going into the game with plenty of confidence,” said Stone.

“Shannon is going well and could play some part on Friday and Lee is fit and available, but there are just a couple of things