Richards warns of Giants revenge
Pat Richards has warned Huddersfield will be out for revenge when they pitch up at the JJB Stadium tonight.
The Australian was the man mainly responsible for Giants' downfall when the two sides clashed in a thriller the other side of the Pennines in March.
The full-back calmly slotted over a last-minute conversion to provide an unlikely 20-19 win at the Galpharm Stadium, after they had seemed
destined for certain defeat.
And Richards has admitted Wigan probably didn't deserve to win that day.
Narrowly
He said: "We were trailing 18-6 with about 10 minutes to go and then they got a drop goal which meant we had to score three times.
"But the boys managed it and when my last kick went over, we had pinched a game we really didn't deserve to win.
"The Huddersfield players won't have forgotten that, and they will be itching to put the record straight.
"They have lost a few games narrowly this season."
Richards is back in the side tonight after missing last week's defeat to St Helens because of illness.
He added: "It was a virus and I felt rotten. It took me about 48 hours to recover, but I'm fine now."
Richards should be joined in the line-up by two fellow Australians – Phil Bailey, who has recovered from a hamstring strain, and new
recruit Tim Smith, who is poised to make his debut off the bench.
But injured Paul Prescott and Sean O'Loughlin are still missing, while Michael McIlorum is suspended.
Noble has described this evening's clash against struggling Huddersfield as a 'massive' game.
Even though Giants have failed to win on their travels so far this summer, the Warriors coach is under no illusion as to the size of the task ahead.
He said: "This is a massive game for us. I'm unable to call it in any other way.
"In my opinion it will have a big say as to where we finish at the end of the season and games don't get much more important than that."
Noble has also called for a vast improvement across the board after watching his side lose the last two games.
He said: "Our team ethic against Hull KR was poor.
"It was better against St Helens and while plenty of the players had a dig, the the truth was that against Saints we just weren't good enough with 12 men. It is my responsibility now to bring this group of players
together, finish the season well and kick-on strongly."
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The full article contains 434 words and appears in Wigan Evening Post newspaper.
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Last Updated:
25 July 2008 10:00 AM
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Source:
Wigan Evening Post
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Location:
Wigan