No-nonsense Huddersfield boss Ian Watson has had “honest” conversations with his under-performing stars - and will now see if they can back up their talk.
Last season’s Challenge Cup finalists host Leigh on Friday desperate to avoid a third straight defeat. They were abysmal losing 28-0 at Hull KR last Friday when Watson launched scathing criticism claiming some players needed to “put their ego away.” Still missing regular half-backs Theo Fages and Olly Russell, he admitted getting things wrong trying to fit Jake Connor, Tui Lolohea and Will Pryce - “three full-backs” - in the same side.
Watson said today that one of them would be left out against Leigh meaning Ireland scrum-half Kieran Rush, 20, could potentially come in for a debut. But it’s been a week of soul-searching at John Smith’s Stadium with Huddersfield - tipped by many to be title challengers - realising they are not as good as they thought.
Asked if he’s had to have some individual conversations in the wake of that debacle, Watson replied: “Yes. Yes. We’ve had them. They will all stay in-house. But there have been some honest conversations. And the players have been really honest as well with what they think about themselves and the team.
"In that way, it’s been a good week. But it will only tell on the playing field tomorrow if we’re true to our word and true to what we say.”
After also losing against Hull - who’d been on a seven-game losing run - Watson conceded: “We've had two really poor weeks. We were comfortable and happy with where we were but these two have knocked us off the rails. We want a response and we need a response. It’s not been good enough.
“It’s made us focus more on the now rather than looking forward. It’s pulled us into check. We weren't getting carried away and we still believe we can achieve what we want. We had one good season last year where we finished top four and got to a Challenge Cup final. But to be a top team you have to do it every year like Catalans, Wigan and St Helens. They have that consistency. We have some of those players who show that level of consistency. And others still show traits of inconsistencies.”
Watson admitted Giants being hyped-up in pre-season as having the strongest squad in Super League and being genuine contenders to challenge the likes of champions St Helens hasn’t helped. He said: “You like expectation. You like to challenge teams to be better. It’s a good thing. That’s where our aim is. It probably doesn’t help some of the younger players as they have one good year and believe the hype and start to think they are better than what they are.”
Watson revealed one of his changes with prop Matty English coming in for Owen Trout who needs an MRI scan after hurting his knee at Hull KR and seeing it flare up during the week. Winger Jake Bibby could also finally get a chance after replacing ex-Wigan team-mate Sam Halsall who drops out of the 21-man squad on form. Huddersfield missed any cohesive kicking game last week and that’s something Watson needs to address after unsuccessfully trying to marry the creative talents of Lolohea, Connor and Pryce.
He said: “We won’t be going with the three this week. We've had a good week in terms of running with a couple of things there to make sure it's the right thing for the team. It's got to be what's best for the team.”
Meanwhile, ex-England star Jermaine McGillvary remains out of favour. The veteran winger, who turns 35 on Tuesday, was dropped after a poor performance against Hull and misses a third successive game against Leigh. But Watson insists he’s still part of his plans and said: “He’s a top bloke. When players don’t play, rumours are spread. We had quite a funny one this morning.
“Apparently Matty English didn’t play last week because he got knocked out in training by Jermaine McGillvary because Jermaine was upset I’d stood him down. That’s not the case at all. It’s absolutely hilarious. So we’ve told Jez he’s not to beat anyone up in training any more! He found it quite amusing as well. But we know we’ve messed up the last two weeks. We’re looking to address that against Leigh.”
