Guest Column - Luke Robinson: Why I just can't wait for chance to tackle Australian legend

I AM coming up against a true legend tonight.

When I used to watch the NRL – when we could still get it on satellite – one player I loved watching was Matt Orford at Melbourne and then with Manly, too.

He's over here now in Bradford colours and, being a scrum-half, I'll be facing him with Huddersfield this evening.

I like a half-back who tries to have a bit of a dig and tests the defence. Orford does that a lot.

That's part of the reason I admire him so much. We all know about his amazing kicking game as well and he takes a lot of other good options but it's his ability to take on the line that impresses me.

When I was younger, I used to get my dad to drive me over from Halifax to Wigan to see Shaun Edwards. As scrum-halves go, he was a real hero but I've watched just as much of Matt Orford.

We've obviously highlighted him as one to watch and he's going to be a big threat both for us and me personally.

Having seen the footage of Bradford's friendly with Hull KR – even with it being his first match – Orford basically ran the show. Everything good came off him.

It is staggering he never played for Australia and says a lot for the strength of their game.

It's pretty similar to what we have in our squad with Brett Hodgson. He's the current Super League Man of Steel but also came over having never represented the Aussies.

It demonstrates the strength in depth of their game, something English rugby league would love to have. The RFL is trying to sort that by reducing the quota spots here so more English talent can come through but it always seems to be one step forward and two steps back in our game with a constant changing of the rules. Hopefully, we'll get it right eventually.

At Huddersfield, we're all just desperate to get this Super League season up and running. It feels like a long time since the last one finished.

There's so much hard work and flogging in pre-season and we're fed up of that now. We just want to get back on the field.

We've got Bradford first up but our aim for the campaign as a whole is to make improvements.

We played some good football last season, proved one of the most consistent sides, came third in he league and reached Wembley while having the best defensive record around.

Unfortunately, we fell just short in the Challenge Cup final and just weren't quite good enough in the play-offs when it mattered most.

There were a number of reasons for that with a couple of injuries hurting us but, despite it still being the club's best year in ages, on reflection, those losses did leave a slightly bitter taste.

We all felt we could win the Challenge Cup and go a lot better in the play-offs. Last season has given us the confidence, though, and showed us we can mix it with the so-called bigger teams.

We might not have fulfilled our potential then but we're sure we can in 2010.

Interview with Dave Craven.