In an effort to get up to speed quickly on the nuances between NRL and Super League rugby, Zac Woolford immersed himself in every game of last weekend’s opening round.

From Leigh Leopards’ historic win over champions Wigan Warriors in the curtain-raiser, to surprise wins for Wakefield Trinity and Hull FC on their travels, self-confessed “footy nerd” Woolford took it all in.

And that was before the former Canberra Raiders hooker made his debut for a Huddersfield Giants side that showed marked improvements on last season before ultimately falling to a 20-12 defeat to Warrington Wolves.

Next up is a trip to Leigh on Sunday when the Giants will have to show further improvements against a Leopards team that shut out Wigan last week to land a notable victory.

Huddersfield Giants' 'footy nerd' Zac Woolford (Picture: Simon Wilkinson/SWpix.com)

“I’m a footy nerd, I watched all the games last week,” said Woolford.

“Leigh just did all the little things really, really well. A bit like we tried to do against Warrington.

“There were just fewer points in it. It’ll be another tough encounter. They have got the big turnaround so no doubt they’ll be ready to go on Sunday.”

Tomorrow’s contest brings Woolford - the son of former Giants coach Simon - face-to-face with another import at hooker, albeit one a little longer in the tooth in Super League terms.

Super League debutant Zac Woolford of Huddersfield, centre, and his team-mates tackle Zane Musgrove of Warrington (Picture: Olly Hassell/SWPix.com)

Leigh’s Papua New Guinean No 9 Edwin Ipape is in his fourth season with the Leopards.

“I’ve never actually seen him play before, but I know he’s a really good player,” said Woolford, 28.

“A different style of hooker to me but really good and effective. He’s a big part of their team.”

Woolford spent any time away from the training field this week studying film of Ipape as well as considering the lessons he learned from his Super League debut and how he can apply them going forward.

“It was a lot different to back home with the ruck speed and what you can get away with,” surmised Woolford.

“I definitely learned some lessons today which will be very useful to me in terms of later in the year.

“You can definitely get away with more. Warrington did a really good job of exploiting it more and slowing us down. I’m used to that sort of thing being a penalty. But I have to adjust and learn to play that way.

“It was messy. It really worked for them last week. It frustrated us at times and helped them get two points.”

Leigh Leopards v Huddersfield Giants: 'Footy nerd' Zac Woolford getting up to speed on Super League nuances