Catalans Dragons v Huddersfield Giants: Luke Robinson calm amid early-season storm

Already without Niall Evalds and Adam Clune, Huddersfield's plans for their opening game against Catalans Dragons have been further disrupted by the threat of a tornado in the south of France.

The fixture in Perpignan is set to go ahead as planned but it has been an eventful build-up to round one for the Giants.

"It's been very interesting from the moment we got here," said Robinson during his pre-match press conference on Thursday. "The coach didn't pick us up so we were a bit stranded at the airport for a while.

"We drove up from Barcelona where the weather was nice but we've had tornado warnings since we arrived. We're supposed to be doing a captain's run today but all the public transport has been banned. We're stuck in the hotel.

"We train at Laund Hill so it's just a normal day for us. Being from the north of England, it doesn't seem too bad to me. But every now and again, there are severe gusts.

"By all accounts, it's supposed to end later today but captain's run has been brought to a halt. It's been a bit of a surreal start."

The loss of two creative players to calf issues on the eve of the season represents an untimely blow for a club determined to change the narrative in 2026.

Robinson is committed to getting to the bottom of Huddersfield's persistent injury problems.

"We don't have definitive timeframes yet," he said on Evalds and Clune.

"The injuries are in an unusual spot so it's seeing how they react to physio as much as anything. Fingers crossed it will only be a few weeks.

"We struggled with a lot of calf injuries last year. Whenever anyone gets injured, we look into the reasons why and what we could have done differently.

"Sometimes injuries just occur but when there's a consistent pattern, it's something we're definitely looking into."

Evalds and Clune aside, Huddersfield are virtually at full strength for a testing first assignment against the Dragons.

The early setbacks have left some fans fearing another long season characterised by injuries but Robinson has stressed the Giants are a world away from the struggles of 12 months ago.

"It's very different," he said.

"We've got three missing but we're a lot healthier than this time last year. We feel very optimistic about where we are.

"We know we're going up against top opposition. They've recruited really well and the squad this year is a lot better than last year.

"The coaching team have had time to embed a better philosophy and the way they want to play. We know it's a tough proposition coming here in the first round of the season but we're really confident in the work we've done.

"I feel like we've built extremely well from where we were last year. The lads are chomping at the bit to get out on the field."