Let’s execute training work in game: Boss

HUDDERSFIELD Giants need to take their training-ground work into execution mode against Leeds Rhinos.

Head coach Simon Woolford – who has lined up Oliver Russell to replace the suspended Danny Brough – is still implementing changes but says the Giants must be much better in possession at Headingley than they were against Catalans Dragons in the Challenge Cup.

Woolford, who has also revealed Jake Mamo will be out for six weeks (medial knee ligaments) and is set to be replaced by Lee Gaskell, had no complaints about the effort in the 20-6 Cup exit but is demanding his players are much smarter with ball in hand against Brian McDermott’s side.

“We changed a few things last week and probably didn’t play as well with the footy as we would have liked, “said the boss, who will be without Brough against Leeds, Catalans and Hull KR in the coming weeks.

“It’s a little bit a case of short-term pain for long-term gain, because we are doing some really good things in training and just need to execute them under the pressure of game circumstances.

“We will just keep working at it and, like I’ve said, we will improve.”

Woolford highlighted where the Giants have been making life hard for themselves.

“Last week the effort was really good (against Catalans) but we just had to do too much defence,” he explained.

“To make 130 more tackles than the opposition and let in only two tries is a fantastic effort from the guys. So we need to bottle that and keep that and make sure we execute a little bit better when we’ve got the footy.

“I just want the lads to improve every week.

“We had a little bit of a hiccup last week when we didn’t play well with the footy, but on the flip side our defence was outstanding.

“So we just need to make sure we keep working hard individually, keep improving our skills and make sure we come up with fewer errors this week.”

So what does he expect from Leeds, who are sixth in the table, just four points above the Giants?

“Leeds have a few injuries to key players, but they are a dangerous team who like to throw the footy around,” said Woolford.

“They have some key players we need to make sure we do a good job on – their back three are quite strong and do a good job for the team, so we have to make sure we defend those guys really well.

“But if we can get a little bit more field position than we had last week then hopefully we can score more points.”

Woolford has been to Headingley just once before, in 1997 when he was involved in the World Club Challenge with Canberra Raiders.

“The atmosphere was really good,” he recalled, “with the English fans buying into supporting it.

“I don’t know if it’s changed much, but from watching games it looks like a really good stadium, so we are looking forward to it.”

Headingley, of course, is undergoing redevelopment of the stand between the rugby ground and cricket ground, which is far from completed.