St Helens v Huddersfield Giants: Ian Watson lays out priority ahead of acid test

The Giants have emerged as genuine title contenders in their second season under Ian Watson, virtually securing a top-four spot with nine rounds remaining.

A win at Saints coupled with a defeat for Wigan Warriors at the hands of Hull FC would take Huddersfield second in the table and boost their chances of a home semi-final.

But above all else tonight, Watson wants to leave the Totally Wicked Stadium convinced that the Giants have the game plan to match St Helens when it matters in the play-offs.

“It’s an interesting game,” said the Huddersfield head coach.

“It’s not the result we’re looking at; we haven’t spoken about the result. If you do the right things, it obviously gives you the opportunity to move second.

“But we’ve spoken about meeting the challenge head on and setting our beliefs and systems out in this one. If we do that, it’ll give us a shot of winning the game, and if we win the game, that sets us up going forward for a real good back end of the year.

“Hopefully when we do get in the play-offs, we have that level of intensity that we know we can perform at.”

Watson is down to his last 18 available players for the first versus third clash, although he is set to welcome back Oliver Wilson, Josh Jones and Will Pryce.

Once again, the Giants have the chance to demonstrate their strength in depth against a Saints side only missing Tommy Makinson, Mark Percival and Lewis Dodd.

“We’re threadbare at the moment and just hoping we can get through this week,” said Watson.

“We should start getting some back next week or the week after. But all the players who have dropped in have been outstanding so there’s no panic.

“We are thin but I try not to make a big deal about injuries because it gives other people opportunities.”

Watson fielded an understrength team in the reverse fixture on Easter Monday and his fringe players stepped up to the challenge, pushing a strong St Helens outfit all the way in a 24-12 defeat.

With Jermaine McGillvary, Chris McQueen and former Saints half-back Theo Fages all set to play after missing the first game, belief is high in the Huddersfield camp ahead of an intense encounter between two sides that relish the grind.

“I think we did really well in that first game given the number of changes that we made,” said Watson.

“We showed everybody that we could compete by changing and rotating a few players as well.

“We took a lot of confidence from the way we played in that first game so we’ll be going to St Helens really confident in our own ability.

“We’re really excited. It’s a game I’m looking forward to. At training, it’s been bubbly and nervous like it is before a big game.

“We want to have a go there. It’s probably the two best teams in terms of territory, possession and the way we turn the ball over.

“It should be a great game.”

St Helens have a four-point cushion at the top after seeing off Wigan in a thrilling Magic Weekend derby but they arguably face stronger competition this year than in any of their previous three title-winning campaigns.

The Warriors beat Kristian Woolf’s side in the Challenge Cup semi-finals and were two minutes away from repeating the feat with 12 men at St James’ Park, while Catalans Dragons recently edged the league leaders in Perpignan.

Tonight’s clash at the Totally Wicked Stadium has been billed as a potential Grand Final dress rehearsal - but Watson knows there is work to do to see off the likes of Wigan and Catalans.

“It’d be nice if it materialises that way,” he said.

“It’d be awesome to get both fully-fit teams out there flying in a Grand Final.

“There’s going to be a few other teams who are going to want to have a say in where we finish.

“We’ve got to believe in ourselves and our processes that if we do the right things, we’re more than good enough to beat St Helens.”