Winger out for season with ligament damage
HUDDERSFIELD scrum-half Matt Frawley is hoping to learn fast after enduring a tough baptism in Super League.
The Australian, who has been handed the daunting task of replacing points machine Danny Brough in the Giants team, was on the end of a 34-14 mauling by Salford in the opening match of the season at the John Smith’s Stadium.
It does not get any easier for Huddersfield, who take on Catalans Dragons in Perpignan today, but at least Frawley can look forward to the prospect of higher temperatures HULL winger Matty Dawson-Jones has suffered a season-ending knee injury just one game into the 2019 campaign.
Dawson-Jones, who joined the Black and Whites in the close season from Leigh and scored on his debut in the Hull derby, suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury in training.
Hull coach Radford said: “Matty is done for the year. I had a really tough conversation today and I really feel for him. He needs to keep his head up, get his rehab right, and he’ll come back stronger.”
Meanwhile, Castleford coach Daryl Powell praised his side for the spirit and character they showed to beat Hull 26-18 at the KCOM Stadium.
The Tigers saw a 10-0 lead wiped out as Hull edged in front 12-10 after half-an-hour.
But once Castleford regained their lead just before half-time, they never looked back, to the delight of Powell. He said: “We showed a lot of character and there was a fair bit of spirit out there.
“Our decision-making with the ball wasn’t great and put us under a bit of pressure. It’s early in the season and we’ve won two games. We’ve had to dig deep to keep the two teams we’ve played out and we’ve done that pretty well. We were scrappy and we need to make fewer errors.”
Powell was pleased with the contribution of his hooker Paul McShane, who played a major role in the win with his all-round game.
“Paul has had a massive pre-season so I expected him to start well,” Powell said.
“He has always been a talented player and he wants to be the best he can be. His kicking game was pretty dangerous.”