A ‘MUST-WIN’ FOR GIANTS
Thorman insists victory over Hull tonight is key for Huddersfield
HUDDERSFIELD GIANTS assistant coach Chris Thorman admits getting the right result is the only thing that matters when they face Hull FC in tonight’s crucial Super League contest.
The West Yorkshire club slipped back into the bottom-four when their five-match winning run came to an end with Friday’s worryingly comprehensive 37-10 defeat at struggling Hull KR.
They are keen to atone for that with the sort of display fans have more recently come to expect.
But Thorman insisted: “I’d say the win is more important than the performance, in all honesty.
“They’re all must-win games at this stage of the season for all those involved, whether top-four wanting to take it into the Super 8s or others fighting against those bottom-four positions.
“Performance is important but for us it is a must-win.”
Their hopes of achieving it are increased with the return of exHull half-back Danny Brough after a three-game ban and also Tongan second-row Ukuma Ta’ai who has missed the last four games with a knee injury.
Thorman said: “Ukuma Ta’ai is a big one for us. In my time at the Giants, Ukuma has been one of our most consistent performers and one of our best forwards.
“He gives us real punch in the middle and some real intelligence defensively too.
“And Danny is a man who is used to playing in highly-pressurised games and has a decent record for us. We’re looking forward to having him back.”
When it comes to Hull, who are seeking a top-four spot and have seen second-rows Mark Minichiello and Sika Manu both sign new one-year deals, Thorman knows who their main threat is: Jake Connor.
Thorman coached the gifted back, who made his England debut against New Zealand last month, for four years before he left Huddersfield for their Yorkshire rivals at the end of 2016.
“I guess the man of the moment is Jake Connor and any team that has Jake in, whether he plays fullback, centre or in the halves, is a dangerous one,” he said.
“When he was called up for England I texted him and told him I was proud of his achievements. It would have been nice if he was still in the claret and gold shirt rather than the black and white, but that’s water under the bridge and I’ll watch his career fondly now.
“He was pretty impressive on his England debut and hopefully he’s not as impressive Thursday.”
On his time at Huddersfield, Thorman recalled: “His effort wasn’t always the greatest, his attitude wasn’t always the greatest but he just had some uncoachable talents.
“He did some freakish things with the ball that you just had to applaud at times. He also used to frustrate the life out of me as coach. At times he would take short cuts but he’s slowly and surely getting those out of his game. He’s a massive threat with the ball. He catches the ball better than anyone else I’ve seen.
“Hopefully we can put him under a bit of pressure. I do know his weaknesses. Whether we can exploit them is a different matter.
“He can get agitated himself and we might have a half-back (Brough) in our team that can agitate him a little bit.”
Meanwhile, Widnes Vikings have signed former Wigan Warriors centre Anthony Gelling from New Zealand Warriors for 2019.