Justin Holbrook has described Friday’s opponents Huddersfield as ‘hard to predict’ as the Super League leaders look to bounce straight back to winning ways tonight.
Following defeat to Wakefield last Sunday, the Saints host the out-of-sorts Giants at the Totally Wicked Stadium looking to solidify their position at the top of the table.
But Holbrook admits it will not be completely straightforward against Chris Thorman’s Giants – who have been perhaps the epitome of inconsistency in 2018.
“Huddersfield have been a little up and down recently but they have a new coach and were unlucky not to beat Leeds a couple of weeks back,” Holbrook told the club’s official website. “They are hard to predict and that makes the game a hard one.
“We have to prepare for them at their best. If we don’t play well then we will get beat. That’s the good thing about this group. They know that.”
The Saints continue to be without captain James Toby for tonight’s game – but Holbrook has insisted he is focussing on a complete team effort to get the job done against the Giants.
“He (Roby) is a massive miss but the fact he didn’t play didn’t have a bearing on winning or losing on Sunday,” Holbrook said.
“I thought Matty (Smith) and Theo (Fages) did a great job at Wakefield but of course you don’t replace James Roby.
“I said that when Alex Walmsley got injured too as he is the best front row in the comp.
“But the minute you rely on one player in a team then you’re in trouble. What doesn’t help is the fact we didn’t win; that highlights the fact a player didn’t play.
“The players took the defeat at Wakefield hard and I expected that. When you watch it back we weren’t that bad apart from that 15 to 18 minute period. Outside of that they only scored a penalty goal.
“We didn’t deserve to win and are looking forward to bouncing back.”
