Stone looking forward to seeing new pairing

He will give the duo another chance to shine after they helped Huddersfield to a 16-16 draw at champions Wigan last week.

Stone dropped Ryan Brierley after the 30-0 loss at Leigh Centurions to allow Gaskell to shift from full-back to the halves.

The former St Helens stand-off, who joined from Bradford Bulls in the off-season, impressed while teenager Darnell McIntosh operated well at No1, too.

“It was a hard decision to leave Ryan out and I thought young Darnell did himself a decent service with how he played,” said Australian Stone.

“Gasky had a bit of potency about him and he feels comfortable in there so it was one that we thought we needed to make after the previous week.

“He can definitely kick the ball, Gasky. He takes a bit of pressure off Danny and that definitely helps us.

“We’ll look to keep that combination going forward on Friday.

“Leeds is always a big game for Huddersfield so they tell me.

“We had a good game with them in the Qualifiers last year and they’ve had some good performances of late.

“They’re a proud club who are used to winning and they’ll come here ready to compete – we always look forward to local derbies.”

Huddersfield winger Aaron Murphy, who joined from Wakefield Trinity in 2012, is set for his 200th career game tonight as Giants look to make it four successive wins over their West Yorkshire derby rivals.

Leeds have lost just once since the opening night, however, and Stone admitted: “They’re a good, potent team.

“They’ve got a lot of strike players and they’ve a big, mobile and skilful pack. Matt Parcell has added something to them and he’s a sharp player.

“They’ve got a good blend of youth and experience in there too. They’re a formidable side and they have been for a long, long time.

“They’ll be looking to bounce back and make a bit of a statement this year.

“But we’ll take some confidence from that draw at Wigan.”