Patched-up squad prepare for huge Saints challenge
FEW fixtures in Super League come tougher than St Helens, but when you throw into the mix being able to select just 16 players, that task becomes even trickier.
That’s the scenario facing Huddersfield Giants tonight however, Simon Woolford is hopeful that his threadbare squad can put in a performance to challenge the Super League champions.
“I’m not too sure the number that are injured but I know the number that are available this week and it’s not ideal,” Woolford said.
“We expected to go through some sort of tough period from an injury point of view but to get such a heavy toll so early back into the season is a concern for us.
“But hopefully in the next couple of weeks it will look a lot better but we will have to go with what we’ve got this week.
“We’ve still got a capable side and we need to believe we can top and do well. We need to work hard and if we do that, we will give ourselves a chance. It is what it is and it’s going to be a massive effort for the 16 that will play.”
Whilst injuries are common in the game, this recent spate of bad luck has been labelled as ‘unbelievable’ by Woolford.
He said: “It’s surprising that we’ve only had a couple of soft tissue injuries, we had Joe Wardle who did his calf early on, Sezer a minor hamstring injury, but apart from that they’ve all been caused by collisions.
“We’ve got three guys going through concussion protocols that are unavailable this week because of the five-day turnaround.
“Gasky was just an innocuous contact to his thumb, Ukuma rolling his ankle.
“Again, we anticipated it wasn’t going to be ideal with the long break and short turnaround but it’s been