Anderson relishing derby date at Wakefield
Huddersfield Giants coach Paul Anderson believes a touch of West Yorkshire pride is at stake on Sunday at the Rapid Solicitors Stadium.
Anderson’s team travel to face Wakefield Wildcats on Sunday, and the coach feels that the game is possibly the closest his team currently get to playing in a local derby.
“There is a lot of history between the two clubs and it appears to be our local derby,” Anderson told his club’s official website.
“It’s a good, healthy relationship with Wakefield – it’s not too far away and going to Belle Vue is always good.
“It’s always a good feel there, you get a good track and we seem to have a good record over there, especially in my time at the club.
“We’ve got to make sure we go there and prepare to work hard, stay patient and the things will come for us.”
The Giants have beaten Widnes and Castleford in their last two games, and Anderson has been pleaed with the defensive improvement he has seen in his side.
“Our first win has helped and you could say we’ve kicked on and put in a half decent performance against Castleford,” he added.
“Defensively I thought we were very good, offensively I thought we were a bit scratchy but we still scored 22 unanswered points against a very good team.
“We’re not getting carried away by any stretch of the imagination, but I think our last two performances have probably been our best two defensively, in terms of points conceded.
“We’re building well, that’s the thing. We had a slow start, but we weren’t a million miles away. We’re staying patient and our luck is changing.
“We’re reasonably happy with where we’re at, and we’ve got an opportunity this week to even the scoreboard so to speak – make it 3 and 3 in regards to wins and losses.
“From the first three rounds to the last two rounds nothing really has changed. There’s never been an air of doom and gloom around the players.
“The players know how good they are, and they knew that they had to stay patient and believe in what we wanted to achieve and things would turn.
“We are confident in our abilities, we know what we want to achieve and if we’re prepared to do what we’re supposed to do then we’re a handful for anybody.”