Huddersfield Giants set sights on another Gold Coast Titans star

Huddersfield Giants are working on a deal to sign Gold Coast Titans winger Tony Francis, Love Rugby League understands.

Francis, 23, has been identified by head coach Jim Lenihan as his latest transfer target, with the player someone well-known to Lenihan following his time at the Titans.

Who is Tony Francis?

A powerful outside back, Francis has made ten NRL appearances for the Titans during his career but has played more regularly in the Queensland Cup.

Breaking through with Burleigh Bears before moving to Tweed Seagulls, he is now playing for Ipswich Jets, and having an excellent indiviudal season.

He has scored 14 tries in 16 games but it has been his work in the backfield that has stood out the most. He is second in the competition for post-contact metres made and top for offloads, averaging almost three per game.

Lenihan puts trust in tried and tested

His move to Huddersfield would represent another Australian recruitment addition for the Giants as they continue to build their squad for the 2027 Super League season, and another from the Titans. They have already secured a deal for prop Jaimin Jolliffe, who will join the club next season, and another former Gold Coast player, Kruise Leeming, is also set to sign for the club next year after working under Lenihan while he was in temporary charge of the NRL club during the 2023 season.

Alongside mid-season recruit Zane Dunford, who Lenihan worked with at Brisbane Tigers, the club’s pursuit of Francis reinforces a strategy to sign players Lenihan knows well from earlier in his career.

Huddersfield announced their intention to move to Dewsbury next season this weekend during their clash with Catalans Dragons. The Giants secured a victory over the French outfit in what was their third straight victory.

They remain at the bottom of the competition but are now just two points adrift of Bradford Bulls and Hull FC with five games of the season remaining, giving them an outside chance of avoiding the wooden spoon despite being bottom of the table for 21 of the 22 rounds of the season.

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