
Tom Burgess will make his first appearance in Huddersfield Giants colours this weekend when Luke Robinson’s side take on Bradford Bulls. Robinson has named a 24-man squad for the contest at the John Smith’s Stadium on Saturday, with Burgess one of two new signings included.
The England international has made the move over from South Sydney Rabbitohs and his presence at the club could be important as they look to improve on last season’s Super League finish of ninth. As such, he’ll be keen to impress against the Bulls, a side he counts as a former club, having started his career at Odsal.
Liam Sutcliffe will also feature after his off-season switch from Hull FC. The centre arrived at Huddersfield after seeing a foot injury end his season prematurely last time around, but he’s fit enough to be involved against the Championship side.
Adam Swift is another returning from injury and looks set to make his first appearance since May. Harry Rushton, Oliver Wilson, Jake Bibby, Sam Halsall, Ashton Golding, Sam Hewitt, Matty English, Elliot Wallis and Aidan McGowan are among the first-teamers set to be involved, while a raft of youngsters have also been named in the squad, with Robinson set to give at least some time to shine.
Interestingly, Huddersfield claim ‘a number of small injuries’ is the reason why more senior men won’t be involved at the weekend.
Bradford have named a strong squad for the short trip across the M62, with James Donaldson and Bayley Liu set for their first outings since making the move to Odsal in the off-season. Michael Lawrence will skipper the side against the team he represented for 15 years.
The game will be Huddersfield’s first outing of pre-season, while Bradford took on Keighley Cougars just before Christmas.
Huddersfield Giants’ 24-man squad: Adam Swift, Jake Bibby, Liam Sutcliffe, Sam Halsall, Oliver Wilson, Tom Burgess, Jack Murchie, Sam Hewitt, Harry Rushton, Ashton Golding, Matty English, Elliot Wallis, Aidan McGowan, Jack Billington, Connor Carr, George Flanagan, Jack Bibby, Jacob Algar, Logan Blacker, Marshall Land, Monty Lumb, Max Merta, Beau Morrison, Leo Ward.
Bradford Bulls’ 25-man squad: Sam Ackroyd, Logan Bayliss, Waqa Blake, James Donaldson, Zac Fulton, Matty Gee, Kieran Gill, Sam Hallas, Tom Holmes, Josh Hunt, Joe Keyes, Michael Lawrence, Jordan Lilley, Bayley Liu, Nathan Mason, James Meadows, Ronan Michael, Jayden Okunbor, Tyran Ott, Franklin Pele, Eliot Peposhi, Ebon Scurr, Mitch Souter, Jorge Taufua, Emmanuel Waine.
