Rick Stone has admitted he has a ‘difficult decision to make’ regarding the selection of Ryan Brierley and Danny Brough ahead of Friday’s Qualifiers clash with London.
Brough is back in contention for the visit of the Broncos after missing the last two games through suspension. However, the performances of Brierley have put his position under question, with the former Leigh star earning vast plaudits for his performances against Featherstone and Batley, scoring five tries in two games.
With Jamie Ellis also filling one of the halfback spots, Stone has to drop the in-form Brierley, who also played in Huddersfield’s Super League victory over Hull FC earlier this season when Brough was unavailable, or make the bold move to leave out Brough or Ellis.
Although Stone admits that it is a nice predicament to be in, he accepted that it is a tough call.
“Both players bring something to the table and do things a little bit differently. The experience of Danny Brough is going to be really important in these sort of games while Ryan has definitely put his front foot forward and shown that he is more than capable of playing the grade and doing a good job.
“It’s a tough decision to make. It’s not an easy one for sure but it is a good position to be in.”
Among Stone’s options is to move Brierley to full-back, which would mean leaving Scott Grix out or moving Jake Connor into the centres.
“That’s one we have to think about, we might think about a bit of flexibility so we can get all three boys in the team, we’ll have a look at that and see what we come up with.
“There’s a possibility of maybe Ryan playing at full-back or one of those boys coming off the bench. We’ll consider everything and see what we think we need for the London game and make our decision accordingly.”
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Stone admitted earlier this month that he was unsure where Brierley fit into the team. However, the former Newcastle head coach admits that he has been impressed with the 24-year-old’s performances.
“For sure, he’s played really well. We’ve made enough clean breaks in those two games, but he’s got on the end of them and his anticipation and speed does a good job there. He’s played an important role for us.”