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‘Foolish not to’ – Huddersfield Giants to look at signing Salford Red Devils players as injuries stack up

Huddersfield Giants could look to Salford Red Devils for possible signings given the club’s major injury issues claims head coach Luke Robinson. Those comments came after the club’s 28-14 pre-season loss to Bradford Bulls in which another Giants player suffered an injury.

Prior to the game, a number of stars had been ruled out including the likes of Leroy Cudjoe, Adam Clune, Zac Woolford, whilst signing George King is a long-time absentee.

Despite that, winger Adam Swift did return and managed to score but it was worse news for one of the other outside backs as Sam Halsall left the field following a head injury.

Speaking post-match on the Huddersfield Giants YouTube channel, Robinson explained: “He went up for the ball and I think he got taken whilst in the air if I’m honest and he ended up hitting his head on the floor pretty bad.

“It was one of those where he stumbled so they didn’t even do a head test (HIA), they just kept him off. As soon as somebody looks like they’re stumbling then we just made an instant call which is disappointing because I wanted to see Sam play, he’s one of our more exciting backs.”

Speaking to the possible recovery time for Halsall, Robinson noted: “I don’t think he has had too many head knocks in the past so I don’t think it should be too complex of a situation to get him back playing.”

Huddersfield Giants ‘foolish not to’ look to sign Salford Red Devils players

With so many injury issues it was put forward that Huddersfield could recruit from the financially-burdened Salford Red Devils to help bolster their squad, particularly given they have an overseas quota spot open.

Salford have been ordered by the RFL to cut costs by £800,000, whilst Huddersfield have a string of first-team talent out which saw Robinson asked about the prospect of the Giants signing from the Red Devils.

“With the injuries that we’ve got at the moment, I think I’d be foolish not to look at some options,” the Giants boss stated.

“If players aren’t going to be back in time for the start of the year then we are a little bit short in certain departments.

“We are always looking, that will be up to Ken Davy and Andy Kelly regarding the salary cap and recruitment. Whether we have scope to bring players is an ongoing conversation.

“Hopefully we get our players back and we don’t need anyone.”

Among the Salford Red Devils players attracting interest are Marc Sneyd, Deon Cross and Kallum Watkins, whilst Rugby League Live recently reported that forward Jack Ormondroyd is being targetted by Castleford Tigers.

Huddersfield Giants injury crisis revealed with stars in race to start season

 24/05/2024 - Rugby League - Betfred Super League: Round 12 - Huddersfield Giants v Leigh Leopards - John Smith's Stadium, Huddersfield, England - Adam Clune of Huddersfield in action.

Credit: Alex Whitehead/SWpix.com

Having previously revealed the injury status of a number of players, including Adam Clune, Robinson moved to clarify the situation at the club.

He explained: “I could have probably played four or five who are carrying niggles and knocks but I’m not going to play them in pre-season and lose them for the start of the year. That would just be foolish.

“A few of them were 50/50, the ones that are a bit more concerning are Adam Clune and Zac Woolford – the rest of them we think will be back for the start of the year which will be great, apart from Taane Milne who is going home for the birth of his first child.”

It’s a major worry that both Clune and Woolford might not be back for the start of the season given that they are two major pieces in the team’s spine, especially considering Huddersfield’s tough start that sees them face five of last year’s top six in the opening six weeks.

Quizzed on how difficult the pre-season has been so far, Robinson was blunt in his assessment.

“To say it’s been hard is an understatement,” he declared.

“When you haven’t got your two main half-backs and your full-back is not there then all of a sudden you lose your captain, your loose forward and your hooker then it becomes very difficult because it’s your spine members. It’s pretty much the heart of your team.”

The Giants move on to face Featherstone Rovers next before entering the Challenge Cup in Round Three on the weekend of the 8th and 9th of February.

1 Comment

1 Comment

  1. John

    January 19, 2025 at 1:03 pm

    ??? You don’t look at signing players for the season to cover injuries with a recovery of two or three weeks.
    Then again, with an owner who can look at buying the Shay to prepare for the Giants to use for one season whilst he has a new ground built, buying two or three players to cover for three week is a drop in the ocean.

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