McDermott seeking to bring an end to poor away record

They have not prospered at Huddersfield Giants in nearly four years, a last win at tonight’s venue being in the 2011 play-offs.

Leeds lost 29-10 against Warrington Wolves on Friday, only the Super League leaders’ second defeat this term, and are hoping for a swift return to form.

On Huddersfield, McDermott said: “They are a good team.

“They’ve been out of form at times this year, but are a very big and skilful side.

“It is not our best hunting ground so for a few reasons we need to be better on Thursday.

“We weren’t far off last week, but we weren’t far off in lots of areas, which is why, essentially, we weren’t close to winning it.

“Our fluency in attack wasn’t there and I don’t think we were much of a threat with the ball.”

Huddersfield, despite having the best defence in Super League, have struggled for rhythm in attack themselves so far.

Captain Danny Brough will look to create some sparks this evening and McDermott said: “He is certainly a pivotal player but they aren’t a one-man team.

“They are a very well-balanced team and they’ve recruited very well. They’ve almost recruited aggressively, made a beeline and whoever the best players are on the market at the time seem to have gone to Huddersfield.”

Meanwhile, injury-hit Salford Red Devils have not named assistant coaches Ian Watson or Martin Gleeson in their 19-man squad for the visit to Hull, suggesting their selection crisis might not be as bad as first feared earlier this week.

St Helens’ former Kiwi Lance Hohaia, 32, has announced his immediate retirement.