Huddersfield Giants v Wakefeld Trinity: League is '˜going soft' claims returning Brough

The Huddersfield Giants stand-off was suspended after verbally abusing a touch judge.

He makes a timely return to face former club Wakefield Trinity in the Ladbrokes Challenge Cup, along with fit-again England winger Jermaine McGillvary.

But veteran Brough maintained he felt harshly treated by the disciplinary system.

“We’re not playing tiddlywinks,” said the former Man of Steel.

“It’s an aggressive game. If 10,000 fans are shouting ‘Danny Brough’s a ******’ or whatever in front of my family, if I took all that to heart every week what would happen then?

“But I say something to a touch judge and end up with a three game ban and £500 fine?

“I think it is a bad call and people just need to grow up,” added Brough.

“I’m looking forward to getting back out there on Friday with the boys.

“I’ve trained hard since I’ve been off and now, like all of us, I want to impress the new coach coming in.”

Australian Simon Woolford is not expected to arrive until Monday so Chris Thorman takes charge again tonight.

Huddersfield ended a five-game winless run when they beat Widnes Vikings last Friday –Thorman’s first victory since taking over on an interim basis from Rick Stone – and that has lifted confidence in the hosts’ ranks.

They have a wretched record, though, in the Challenge Cup against their West Yorkshire rivals.

Huddersfield have not beaten Wakefield in the competition since 1936, a seven-game sequence that included a Wembley defeat in the 1962 final and at the quarter-final stage two years ago.

However, Trinity coach Chris Chester was in the stands to watch them defeat Widnes last week and said: “I was really impressed with the young kids that came in.

“They brought plenty of energy and enthusiasm and that’s what you get from young players like that.

“Whether they can play like that week in week out is another thing but I was impressed by how hard they worked for each other.

“Obviously they bring Brough and Jermaine McGillvary back in and those two will certainly lift their side further and mean they’ll pose different challenges.

“We know we’ll have a hell of a fight on our hands come Friday but we’re looking forward to it.”

Huddersfield’s former St Helens and Bradford prop Paul Clough is set to make his 300th career appearance but Wakefield are forced into changes.

After they picked up a much-needed win themselves, beating Hull KR on Sunday, Chester is without two former Giants – full-back Scott Grix and prop Craig Huby – as well as prolific winger Ben Jones-Bishop.

“Grixy is the biggest concern out of them all,” he said.

“He has a labrum tear and rotator cuff issue that might require surgery but we’ll wait and see what the specialist says.

“We’ve some fresh bodies coming in, though, with Joe Arundel, Max Jowitt, Mason Caton-Brown and Justin Horo in the squad.”