Leeds' Brett Ferres braced for fierce reception on Huddersfield return
Thursday 28 April 2016 14:38, UK
England forward Brett Ferres is bracing himself for a fiery reception when he returns to Huddersfield on Friday night for the first time since his acrimonious departure.
The second rower has missed the last five matches for his new club Leeds after tearing a calf in the defeat at Castleford over Easter, but has recovered in time to face his old club in a Super League basement battle.
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Ferres, who produced the best rugby of his career in his three years with the Giants, left the John Smith's Stadium in the close season over an issue away from the field and he is not expecting to get a hero's reception on his return.
"Probably not a great one, obviously," he said. "It is what it is, I'm not too worried about the reaction.
"I'll go out and play my best for Leeds Rhinos and that's all it is for me at the end of the day.
"I think I've done all right in my time so far with Leeds. I played the first seven games and obviously missed the last few, but I've settled in well. It's a fantastic place to be and I'm delighted to be here."
Ferres has already tasted victory over his old club this year - the Rhinos triumphed 20-16 at Headingley two months ago - and he is surprised to see them struggling at the foot of the table, not that he is losing any sleep over it.
"I am surprised," he said. "They've got some quality out there with the likes of Jermaine McGillvary and Leroy Cudjoe, lots of good players. But I'm not concentrating on them too much, to be honest. It's up to them what they do."
With just three wins from their first 12 matches, the defending champions are struggling to reach the top eight and Ferres knows they must quickly start turning narrow defeats into much-needed victories.
"If you look at the league table, it doesn't look too pretty for us at the minute," he said. "We need to start knocking off some wins. We say every week we need to win but this is a must-win for us.
"That's the difference between the top sides and the bottom sides at the minute. The likes or Wigan and Warrington are jagging those wins.
"It's really important for us to kick on and we need to grind them out and get a result."
Friday's game is just as crucial for Huddersfield, who were contesting top spot with Leeds going into the corresponding game in 2015. Ferres was in the Giants team pipped 20-16 in dramatic fashion by the Rhinos in the last match of the regular season, but now find themselves bottom just past the halfway point of the 2016 campaign.
"This is usually a top-of-the-table type clash, but we are where we are so there is some added pressure in there," Huddersfield coach Paul Anderson said. "I think whoever keeps their composure the longest will win the game.
"We have shown over the past few weeks some definite improvements and we have got to turn that into wins now."
The game is a dress rehearsal for the Ladbrokes Challenge Cup sixth-round tie a week later, but Ferres, who was in the Huddersfield team that lost to Leeds at the same stage of the 2015 tournament, insists the players will not have an eye on that.
"It's a funny one, but there two separate competitions and this week is very important for us," he said. "We've got to concentrate on the here and now and the two points are very vital for us."
