Huddersfield Giants have revealed their squad numbers for the new season – and in doing so, have given the strongest hint yet about where some of their new signings may feature in 2017.
Four of the club’s new signings have been given numbers in the starting 13 – including Lee Gaskell, who will wear the number four shirt, hinting he is a direct replacement for the recently-departed Joe Wardle.
NRL import Jake Mamo will wear the number one shirt vacated by Scott Grix, prop Shannon Wakeman wears 10 and Dale Ferguson – who joined from Bradford like Gaskell – wears 12.
There are significant promotions up the numbers for youngsters such as Kruise Leeming (14) and Oliver Roberts (16), while another new signing, Paul Clough, wears the number 18 shirt.
Ryan Brierley looks set for an extended stint in the halves this year after playing both half-back and fullback in 2016: he wears the number seven shirt vacated by Jamie Ellis.
“The Giants will learn from last season because all of us who were involved never want that to happen to the club again,” Giants club ambassador Eorl Crabtree told the Huddersfield Examiner.
“It was a difficult situation going into the Qualifiers because Rick Stone had just come on board and he was battling to get us fit to play the way he wanted us to with just six weeks to try and achieve that in.”
Huddersfield Giants squad numbers: 1 Jake Mamo, 2 Jermaine McGillvary, 3 Leroy Cudjoe, 4 Lee Gaskell, 5 Aaron Murphy, 6 Danny Brough, 7 Ryan Brierley, 8 Sam Rapira, 9 Ryan Hinchcliffe, 10 Shannon Wakeman, 11 Tom Symonds, 12 Dale Ferguson, 13 Michael Lawrence, 14 Kruise Leeming, 15 Sebastine Ikahihifo, 16 Oliver Roberts, 17 Ukuma Ta’ai, 18 Paul Clough, 19 Nathan Mason, 20 Daniel Smith, 21 Gene Ormsby, 22 Tyler Dickinson, 23 Sam Wood, 24 Darnell McIntosh, 25 Jared Simpson, 26 Mikey Wood, 27 Liam Johnson, 28 Jake Wardle, 29 Matty English.
