Bradford v Huddersfield: Teams
Bradford Bulls coach Steve McNamara has named an unchanged 20-man squad for their Yorkshire derby against Huddersfield.
Last Updated: 14/02/08 4:54pm
Bradford Bulls coach Steve McNamara has named an unchanged 20-man squad for their Yorkshire derby against Huddersfield on Saturday evening.
The Bulls went down 26-24 at Wakefield in their opening Super League XIII fixture, but McNamara is sticking with the same group of players for this first home game of the season.
He has loaned out prop forward Craig Kopczak to Halifax since the defeat at Wakefield, while David Solomona (knee) and Semi Tadulala (cheekbone) are still out of contention because of injury.
Bradford finished third in the standings last season and have been working hard in training all week as they seek to get back on track.
Fatigue
The Giants lost 30-10 to Super League champions Leeds Rhinos in their opening game and coach Jon Sharp complained that his players looked "fatigued" in that game.
Sharp managed to get his team up to sixth at the end of last season though, after defeat to then champions St Helens in their opener, and the play-offs remain a realistic target for the Giants.
New arrivals Paul Whatuira, Luke Robinson and George Gatis all made their debuts in the defeat to Leeds on Sunday and Sharp's squad remains unchanged.
David Hodgson (knee) and Martin Aspinwall (knee) are still out through injury, for what promises to be a keenly contested Yorkshire derby.
Bradford 20-man squad: Morrison, Burgess, Sykes, Newton, Hape, Deacon, Evans, Halley, Nero, Cook, Vagana, James, Tupou, Platt, Harris, Godwin, Jeffries, Finnigan, Lynch, Langley.
Huddersfield 20-man squad: Thorman, Elford, Whatuira, Brown, Robinson, Crabtree, Gatis, Skandalis, Lolesi, Raleigh, Wild, Jones, Jackson, Mason, Snitch, Griffin, Hudson, Cudjoe, Lawrence, Jensen.