Huddersfield v Wigan preview
Huddersfield will give debuts to Jamie Foster and 18-year-old Sam Wood against Wigan.
Huddersfield coach Paul Anderson will be forced to field one of the most inexperienced line-ups in the club's Super League history just one game into the new season after eight members of his 25-man squad picked up injuries.
Aaron Murphy will switch to full-back and Foster, who has been playing rugby union since leaving Bradford at the end of the 2014 season, will go onto the wing on Friday alongside former Dewsbury Celtic junior Wood.
"Jamie will play," Anderson said. "He's saying the right things but obviously he has been inactive for a while. There is always a risk with that but we have no choice at the moment. "Somebody's kicked a cat but what you are going to see over the next couple of weeks is the future of the Giants. We're not likely to get anybody back soon.
"The young fellas will be loving it because they're going to get an opportunity to play at home, on Sky, against Wigan, and challenge themselves. "We've a couple of young fellas in there who have been training all pre-season with us and they had some time in the trials but now it's the big time and they'll get their opportunity."
Still adjusting to life after the departure of England forward Brett Ferres on the eve of the season and without Joe Wardle, Anderson's men were also forced to play the opening game of the season without Craig Huby, Kyle Wood, Jared Simpson or Luke Robinson, and in that 30-16 loss, they were dealt three further blows as skipper Danny Brough (dead leg), Eorl Crabtree (groin) and Scott Grix (shoulder) all picked up injuries during the clash.
Robinson on Tuesday announced his retirement after failing to overcome a hip injury, while Grix could be sidelined for up to six months after being told he needs to undergo a second shoulder re-construction.
"The worst-case scenario is four to six months," said Anderson of Grix's injury. "He had shoulder surgery at the beginning of last year and it's the same shoulder. "All the good has been undone and it's a longer rehabilitation because it all has to be done again. It's quite nasty for him."
Wigan meanwhile have been able to call upon a highly experience squad, with the likes of Matty Smith, Josh Charnley and Liam Farrell all making the trip to the John Smith's Stadium.
Huddersfield Giants: Jake Connor, Leroy Cudjoe, Jamie Ellis, Jamie Foster, Ryan Hinchcliffe, Josh Johnson, Kruise Leeming, Michael Lawrence, Nathan Mason, Jermaine McGillvary, Darnell McIntosh, Aaron Murphy, Larne Patrick, Sam Rapira, Oliver Roberts, Daniel Smith, Ukuma Ta'ai, Mikey Wood, Sam Wood.
Wigan Warriors: John Bateman, Gregg Burke, Josh Charnley, Tony Clubb, Liam Farrell, Ben Flower, Anthony Gelling, Oliver Gildart, Willie Isa, Dom Manfredi, Michael McIlorum, Sean O¹Loughlin, Sam Powell, Dan Sarginson, Matty Smith, Ryan Sutton, Taulima Tautai, Lewis Tierney, George Williams.
