if Radford plays his initial selection of players for the cancelled York friendly at Doncaster it will mean the first team squad will have only the HKR game as a pre season competitive match and also most will play a limited time.
Given that we have five new players and Smith will also get a run out i think we could start the season badly underdone

Time will tell I suppose.


A lot will depend on what they're doing in training. They could get just as much from a full contact game between themselves as they could in a run out at Donny or York.

There aren't many senior/key players at clubs who'll rack up a lot of minutes in pre-season games. Even in the Rovers game, I expect most will play 40/50mins. As a comparison, Wigan have two friendly's vs Leigh & Salford, Leeds have five, so there doesn't appear a set formula.

I wouldn't be too worried about it too much, they're one piece of a bigger pre-season jigsaw.

Would've like to see a full strength team for the first half v donny but that wouldn't give the younger/fringe players much chance to shine

I'm not sure that one game is enough to get so many new players to gel but it is against super league opposition at least so they will experience the level they will usually play at. Also Radford will almost certainly be thinking about injuries.

Think with pre season friendlies is a case of dammed if you have to few dammed if you have to many.

They have a behind closed doors game against a Championship club this week weather permitting which will give them a bit of a bash up

I dont think too much should be read into it. I think if they can replicate the intensity of a game in training to blow the cobwebs out then the players should be professional enough to be in shape for the start of the season.

60 minutes across the 2 friendlies for all big players should be enough time to put the combinations into practice and get used to each other.

If the right work has been done in training then the friendlies should be a formality...

I'd try not to worry too much. Your concerns about Frank Pritchard not arriving were unfounded, and the spine's pretty settled, right, (apart from Hadley as our starting 13 but he's got a lot of games under his belt)?

Interesting to read Wilde 3's info on the extra game. Hopefully enough game time all round but obviously number 1 priority is avoiding injury.

The thing we have going for us this season is that we have a settled half back duo who are used to playing together. Its a lot easier to bed in a new forward or winger than a new scrum half like we do most seasons.

Same hooker and Shaul's played plenty of games too.

Huddersfield had none last season due to cancellations and whilst they started slowly, they soon caught up!

Yes i know but we cant afford to start slowly