Pressure’s on to win trophies and I like it!
WATSON RELISHING GIANTS’ EXPECTATIONS ON HIM THIS SEASON
NOT A ROLE MODEL WEST APPROACH GRAND SANCY
TEGEREK JAVA POINT
HITMAN FAME AND CONCRETE
HUDDERSFIELD Giants coach Ian Watson is relishing the prospect of being under pressure to win trophies.
The new Claret and Gold boss defied the odds by taking the Salford to a maiden Grand Final and a first Challenge Cup final for half a century on a shoestring budget before being persuaded to succeed Simon Woolford at the John Smith’s Stadium.
Bankrolled by local businessman Ken Davy, the Giants have demonstrated their ambition by enabling Watson to complete his full shopping list in the close season with quality signings of the calibre of Jack Ashworth (St Helens), Ricky Leutele (Toronto), Joe Greenwood (Wigan), Josh Jones (Hull) and Luke Yates (Salford).
That has inevitably raised the level of expectation at the John Smith’s Stadium and Watson is thrilled by the challenge.
“That’s what you want,” he said as he puts the final preparations to the squad ahead of the new Super League season. “You want that challenge and that competition, the pressure to be on to win games and win things.
“That’s the club I wanted to be a part of. The pressure is good.
“We’ve got people here who have won a League Leaders’ Shield (in 2013) and we’ve brought in some players who know how to go further than that - Josh Jones and Joe Greenwood have won Grand Finals and played internationally at the top level.
“You need more of those winners in your team.”
On top of his proven performers, Watson is also excited by the depth at his new club, who are starting to reap the benefits of having longstanding apprenticeship and academy set-ups which he believes will enable the Giants to compete with Wigan and St Helens for years to come.
“If you look at the top teams, they have always been able to bring young lads through,” he said. “There is a lot on the conveyor belt here. Salford didn’t have that route, so every year we were having to rebuild and hope we could pinch a player from somewhere.
“Clubs like Wigan and St Helens have been able to build from within and that is something, hopefully, we can do here at Huddersfield.
“There are homegrown players who have been here for a number of years like Joe Wardle, Michael Lawrence, Jermaine McGillvary and Leroy Cudjoe and they’ve now got Darnell McIntosh and Matty English and younger guys underneath, so you can build a club where you are not continually chasing your tail.”
Watson has been particularly impressed in training by Will Pryce, the teenage son of former Great Britain stand-off Leon Pryce who could force his way into the reckoning for a Super League debut this year. Former Widnes and London Broncos full-back Olly Ashall-Bott is favourite to take the place of Ashton Golding, the club’s only major injury concern after he dislocated a shoulder in training, for the opening game against Hull on March 28.