Luke Robinson has a Huddersfield Giants selection ‘shootout’ on his hands ahead of the opening round of Super League.
The Giants are approaching the third round of the Challenge Cup and the first weekend of the league competition with a squad that can be deemed to be close to full strength at the very least.
That means Robinson will have the luxury of having some big selection decisions to make in the coming weeks and one of the biggest calls looks set to come at full-back.
Niall Evalds is the senior man in the position, with the number one making last season’s loan from Hull KR permanent over the off-season.
But the Giants also have young George Flanagan pushing for place and the head coach will be keen to get the academy graduate the time he needs on the field to keep progressing.
Flanagan has done all he can to catch the eye over pre-season, ticking boxes off the field and on it, with a particularly impressive performance against Hull FC last weekend. And, with a long-term deal signed and in the bag, he knows he’ll be with Huddersfield Giants long term as he continues to grow and develop.
Whoever Robinson picks at full-back this year, though, the head coach knows he has a star on his hands in Flanagan.
“George is someone who we want to build the club around,” Robinson said on the 21-year-old. “We’ve tied him down now for a number of years and it’s someone that I envisage will be here long beyond that contract as well.
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“He’s a really talented player and with the ball in hand, he can do things that not a lot of others can.
“He’s really embraced the defensive side of the game and he’s put loads of weight on at the same time and got himself a lot fitter and defensively he’s understanding numbers a bit better and spacing. He’s going to get better and better.
“It’s a bit of a shootout between him and Niall Evalds, who has been a fabulous player for a long, long time and hopefully George can keep learning off him and keep getting better and better.”
He added: “It’s difficult not to put too pressure on him, he probably puts too much pressure on himself, he wants to win and he wants to do well for himself. I’d say he’s a star in the making but he’s getting into the realms of becoming a star. Keeping his feet on the ground, he’s from a really grounded family, a rugby family, that understands the game and the sport and he’s grown up around it. Keeping his feet on the ground won’t be a problem.
“He has to keep learning and developing and keep learning off Niall and he’ll keep getting better and better.”
