Super League set-up is all new to Parcell
DANNY BROUGH says the best way to celebrate his 300th Super League game will be to send off Huddersfield Giants team-mate Sam Rapira on a winning note.
The Scotland captain reaches the significant personal milestone tonight when the Fartowners face Leeds Rhinos in their final game of the season.
Huddersfield can no longer reach the Super League semi-finals after heavy back-to-back defeats at Salford Red Devils (52-14) and St Helens (40-16).
However, stand-off Brough says they want to round off their campaign with a derby victory especially as tonight is also ex-Kiwi prop Rapira’s final game before joining French club Toulouse.
“Sam’s been a great professional for us and he’s become a good friend of mine,” he said, about the 30-year-old who has spent the last two seasons with Giants.
“We’ve tried to look after each other along the way, he has a good family, has been a quality frontrow for us and is a massive signing for Toulouse.
“We wish him all the best – but want to send him out on a high first.”
On his 300th Super League game, Brough added: “I didn’t actually know it was coming up until it got mentioned today (Thursday).
“It’s not something I’ve ever thought about but it is a good milestone to reach.
“It’s a decent effort. And I’ll be looking forward to my next game with Scotland after this.
“Leeds will be wanting to build a bit of momentum to go into next week’s semi but we want to send our fans off with a win.
“There’s two proud teams going up against each other and hopefully we can get the performance we want.”
Brough, who made his Super League debut with Hull FC in 2005, has made 201 top-flight appearances for Huddersfield alone since joining from Wakefield Trinity in 2010.
He featured 37 times for Hull, made a further 10 appearances for Castleford in 2006 and then 51 for Wakefield between 2008 and 2010. Meanwhile, ex-Bradford Bulls head coach Francis Cummins is back in rugby league.
The former Leeds and Great Britain international will become Widnes Vikings assistant coach when leaving Doncaster Knights at the end of the month. FANS’ player of the year Matt Parcell is still coming to terms with the long and the short of Super League.
Parcell joined Rhinos on the eve of the season and admitted it has been difficult adjusting to a 30-game league campaign, followed by a two-match play-offs series.
Rhinos complete their Betfred Super-8s fixtures away to Huddersfield Giants tonight, a week before a sudden-death semi-final.
If they reach the Grand Final in 15 days’ time it will be their 36th competitive game of the year, 12 more than some teams in Australia’s NRL.
Parcell – who has made 31 appearance so far – said: “It is quite a long season.
“It is just [a case of] getting used to playing a lot of games.
“It is a bit different here with the structure and how short the semi-finals series is. We have said all along, especially now we have got second, you only have to be at your best going into the semi-finals.”
Rhinos are already assured of finishing second and have nothing to play for on the table tonight, but Parcell said: “It is all about building towards the semifinal.
“We want to put in a good performance.
“We don’t want to be going into the semi-final on the back of a poor performance.
“That is our main focus. I think momentum is the big thing, especially the ways the semifinals are over here.
“It’s such a short semi-finals if you get a bit of momentum going into it you only have to win two games and you could win the Grand Final.”
Rhinos are a massive 12 points behind league leaders Castleford Tigers, but five clear of third place.