Tony Smith has looked ahead to Saturday’s Betfred Challenge Cup Sixth Round clash.
The Black & Whites travel to take on the Giants at the John Smith’s Stadium this afternoon, aiming to return to winning ways and end a disappointing run of form.
Looking ahead to Saturday’s cup clash, Smith said: “We haven’t given up hope on making our Super League season a successful one, but has this club got a great affinity with the Challenge Cup? Absolutely. It’s got a good history, a strong history, especially with their last successes.
“I’ve been on the unfortunate end of it – coming second to them on a couple of occasions when I’ve been an opposition coach, once at Leeds and once at Warrington. I’ve seen that history and that celebration. Would I like to be part of it? Absolutely. And so would the players.
“For the players who were part of that, they’d love to, and there’s not many of them left now. We’d like to create some more history for ourselves and that’s what we’re striving to do, but we’re a long way off finals.”
Assessing the Giants, Smith added: “We’ve got a really strong competitor on the weekend. They’re a really good team with a star-studded pack, and a star-studded back line. We’re going to have to perform particularly well if we’re going to enjoy the cup this year.
“They’ve been competitive. They’ve had a couple of results not go their way but they’re not far off. It’s a very competitive competition and that’s why I’m reluctant to write anyone off at the moment. Everyone will go through periods of being really strong and successful and they may have some twists and turns and challenges along the way.
“I think Huddersfield are as capable as any other team in the competition. They’ll be a tough opponent, that’s for sure.”
Assessing the Black & Whites current injury situation, Smith continued: “We’re still waiting on further results on Carlos Tuimavave. He won’t be available this week. We’re not sure of the extent, though, and we’ll investigate further before we work out exactly how long he’ll be out for.
“Danny Houghton is okay. He is coming through and he is touch and go for this week. He is a chance and he is pushing hard for selection. It’s possible (that he will miss out), but he doesn’t want to.
“We may limit his time or how we use him. We’ll assess all that, but if he’s good to go, it’s hard to leave him out. He’s a warrior. He loves the Challenge Cup and he loves being involved.
“He’s had some really big moments, and he has a great affinity with the cup. We’ll see how he goes. If he’s confident and we’re confident in him, then we’ll keep going, but if we feel that he needs a rest, then we’ll give him a rest.”
Smith also confirmed that Fa’amanu Brown and Tex Hoy are available after picking up knocks last weekend.
“Both have trained all week. They were knocks rather than anything that would prevent them from taking to the field this week.”
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