Huddersfield Giants boss Luke Robinson will have his first choice half-back partnership available to him for the first time this season on Friday night. The Giants welcomed Adam Clune back from injury a couple of weeks ago and the head coach has now been able to name Tui Lolohea in his 21-man squad to take on St Helens.
Lolohea has been missing since the end of March through injury, with his last game being the 50-4 loss to Hull KR at the John Smith’s Stadium. He missed out on the opportunity to play with Clune earlier in the season through illness, but he’ll be keen to make his way out onto the field this week and give Huddersfield the edge they crave in attack.
The Giants have made huge steps towards improvement in recent weeks, picking up their first win over Hull FC at Magic Weekend and pushing Hull KR close for 60 minutes last weekend. However, the return of their star stand-off comes as a big boost for Robinson.
Tom Burgess is also included in the side after sitting out of last weekend’s action, but Matty English has dropped out following his collision with Jared Waerea-Hargreaves, while the second change sees Max Merta drop out of the fold.
Paul Wellens has made just one change to his squad after St Helens’ 40-0 win over Catalans Dragons last week. Matt Whitley failed a HIA and he drops out of the fold and that opens the door for Jake Davies to step into the squad for the first time this season ahead of a potential debut.
Elsewhere, it’s as you were for the Saints, with Wellens undoubtedly keen to keep changes to a minimum against the Giants.
Huddersfield Giants v St Helens 21-man squads
Huddersfield Giants: Jacob Gagai, Adam Swift, Jake Bibby, Sam Halsall, Tui Lolohea, Adam Clune, Oliver Wilson, Zac Woolford, Tom Burgess, Jack Murchie, Sam Hewitt, Harry Rushton, Ashton Golding, George King, Joe Greenwood, Leroy Cudjoe, Taane Milne, Kieran Rush, Connor Carr, George Flanagan, Jack Bibby.
St Helens: Jack Welsby, Mark Percival, Jon Bennison, Tristan Sailor, Jonny Lomax, Alex Walmsley, Daryl Clark, Matty Lees, Curtis Sironen, Morgan Knowles, Moses Mbye, Agnatius Paasi, Jake Wingfield, George Delaney, Lewis Murphy, Noah Stephens, Jake Burns, George Whitby, Owen Dagnall, Jake Davies, Deon Cross.
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