Danny Houghton says the Black & Whites are determined to give Johnny Whiteley MBE the respect he deserves both on and off the field at Saturday’s clash against St Helens.
Paying tribute to Whiteley following his sad passing at the age of 91 on Sunday, Houghton expressed his pride to share the club’s list of captains on their training ground dynasty board with the club legend.
To read Houghton’s full tribute – click here
With a series of commemorative events planned for Saturday’s match day, Houghton says the squad will be giving one hundred percent, just as Whiteley did every time he took to the field.
“Johnny was an all-round great guy – he showed his face at the training ground a lot and he always had something positive to say. He was an all-round gentleman and the greatest the club has ever seen,” he said.
“He was always more than willing to have a chat, and his stories were always great to listen to; with what he has achieved in the game, I can’t speak highly enough of him.
“Saturday will be a sad day – but we know that everyone there will be keen to honour his memory. We’ll give him the respect he deserves on and off the field.
“Johnny wore his heart in his sleeve and gave 100% every time he took to the field, and we’ll be aiming to replicate that weekend.”
The game will also be a significant one for Houghton himself, who will break the club’s appearance record for the Super League era, overtaking Richard Horne with his 388th appearance.
“It’s not something I’ve really thought about, it just creeps up on you. I’m very proud of it though, especially to overtake Richard Horne who is one of the greatest to play for the club.
“To me right now, it’s just a number, but when I hang the boots up, it’s something I’ll look back on with pride. Saturday is another game. I’ll be preparing as best as possible for us to put our best foot forward against the top team.”
Looking ahead to the match, Houghton says the squad will take confidence from last week’s performance at Wakefield, but are well aware of the challenge posed by the reigning champions.
“I love those sorts of game in the thick mud in the battle and the grind – it was good to be back out there after a slog of a pre-season. We put everything in place that we’d worked on and it was a great way to start.
“If you’re successful over the course of the year, those are the wins you look back on, It was a similar game in similar conditions in 2017 when we went on to be successful. We dug deep for each other.”
He continued: “Saints play with that intensity every week and if you don’t match that, you get embarrassed. We need to do that to give ourselves any chance.
“They’re the best team in the competition and everyone needs to raise the bar to catch them and that’s our goal. It is only round two and we don’t want to look into results too much but this will be a great chance to see where we are at. To beat them would be a big achievement.”
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