Brett Hodgson has said his side are giving Sheffield Eagles the respect they deserve ahead of Saturday’s Betfred Challenge Cup Sixth Round clash.
Hull take on the Betfred Championship opposition when they travel to Featherstone’s Millennium Stadium this weekend, looking to reach the quarter-finals of the competition for the eighth season in a row.
Discussing his team news ahead of the match, Hodgson confirmed that the Black & Whites would be boosted by the return of Carlos Tuimavave, who has recovered from a hamstring injury and is set to feature for the first time this season.
“Carlos is looking good so we’re assuming he’s going to be involved. He’s a big part of our team and we’ve missed him in the opening six weeks of the season. It’s a big boost for us to have him back out there.
We’ve had some players stand in for him and do a really great job at centre, but Carlos is a different calibre of player and we’ve missed what he can bring to our team – I’m looking forward to him contributing this week.
“He has done a lot of work. He could have played last week but we wanted to give him another week in training.”
However, Hodgson confirmed that this Saturday’s clash comes too soon for Darnell McIntosh and Josh Reynolds.
“Grub is unlikely to feature next week but could be back for the week after. Darnell could be back for the trip to Wigan but he needs a few more sessions under his belt.”
A Challenge Cup winner himself with Warrington, Hodgson expressed his love for the competition and the opportunity to go up against new opponents in the form of the Eagles.
“I love the Challenge Cup – it’s an even field for everyone. If you don’t prepare well, some of these lower ranked teams can come an upset you, and that’s why we need to give this fixture the respect it deserves.
“With everything being more compact this season with a much shorter competition, it turns up the excitement too.
“If we are near our best, we’ll see a performance that we are proud of.”
He continued: “Our preview and preparations has focused on what we need to do – we need to start strong and make sure we can get to the level we are happy with. We’ve got a positive mindset.
“We won’t be complacent and we’ll be fielding a strong team. We don’t want to disrespect them at all.
“Sheffield have experience in their side and have shown some quality play so far this season in which they’ve scored plenty of points.”
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