Chester to hand debuts to Gigot and Kay on Sunday

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josie andrews
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Chester to hand debuts to Gigot and Kay on Sunday

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The Trinity boss can’t wait to see his debuting duo in action.

Chris Chester believes new signings Tony Gigot and Liam Kay can have a major impact in the months ahead, starting with Sunday’s restart clash with Wigan.

Trinity added former Catalans full-back Gigot during the lockdown, while also bringing Kay back to the club where he started his career.

Chester says he is delighted to have been able to draft in the new recruits and is relishing seeing them in action against Wigan at Headingley.

He confirmed: “They’ll both be featuring.

There’s been a lot of work done by the club to make those two signings happen.

“A lot’s been said on social media and in the press with regard to some negativity about us brining players in when there’s been cuts

“But both of the guys have been brought in cost neutral, so there’s no extra cost to the club, to the players or the staff.

“And being able to bring two players of that quality in these tough circumstances is a credit to the people that run the club.

I had brief discussions with Liam six or seven months ago that went smoothly, and we were able to reach a compromise with Toronto.

“The Tony one came out of the blue, and there were a couple of clubs chasing him, but to fit him in for the rest of the year like we have is great, as we had a bit of space on the salary cap

“Tony really excites me as a player and I’ve been impressed with him at Catalans.

“He was man of the match in the Cup Final, and I look at him and he just reminds me of Gutherson at Parramatta, playing out of the back with his passing game.

“He knows there are areas he needs to improve, but he can slot in well here and I’m sure he can be a success.

“We’ve brought him in to bring some competition to Alex Foster at full-back, and with Danny Brough leaving, we’ve made the decision to give Ryan Hampshire and Max Jowitt a go at the half-back position.

“It’s up to those guys to be playing well on the field and doing what they need to do at training.

“It’s good competition at full-back and in the halves and I’m looking forward to those guys working behind a physical pack.”

However, Chester will likely be without Jordan Crowther and Matty Ashurst for Sunday’s game, while Brough and Joe Arundel remain sidelined.

Chester revealed: “We’ve taken a couple knocks this week and lost Matty Ashurst to a slight hamstring injury.

“He probably could have played, but there’s no point risking it, while Jordan went down during a session the other day.

“He’s got a bit of a dead leg and an issue with him hamstring, and again, I’m not willing to risk anyone who doesn’t need to be on the field.

“But barring those four guys we’re pretty much where we expected to be.”

Chester continued: “We got a pretty big squad of about 33 players, and we’ve got some young kids who are really champing at the bit go get out there.

“Yusuf Aydin got an opportunity at start of the year and has been training really well, and he’s in the 23.

“He’s going to get opportunities, along with Connor Bailey and Jack Croft as well.”

Chester side’s will play under Super League’s new six to go rules for the first time this weekend, and the Wakefield boss says he’s a fan of the changes.

“I think the new rules are great.

“There was an opportunity to align the rules with the NRL, but we wanted more time to watch them in action before making those changes.

“I’m glad that those decisions have now been made, and I think it’s going to be great for our game and the international game.

“I know that Shaun Wane is pleased that the new rules have been brought in.”

Chester continued: “I’m hopeful we can be one of the teams that benefits.

“It puts a massive emphasis on completion rates, but the referees’ interpretations still haven’t changed.

“We’re still going to be able to wrestle and we’ll still have the same amount of time as last year.

“But the last thing you want to do is give away six again over and over. You end up playing catch-up by the end of the first half or 20 minutes in the second-half.

“However, I’m excited and think we have players who can take advantage.”

Focusing on the task in hand, Chester says his team must match Wigan physically during the open exchanges to stand a chance of being successful.

“We know that every Wigan side is going to be physical, and when we’ve gone well against them in the past it’s because we’ve matched them physically.

“We’ve been aggressive and taken the game to them.

“When we’ve been disappointed, we’ve started slowly and let them get momentum, and once they have that it’s hard to claw it back.

“It’s important we start physical and match their intensity in the first 10 to 15 minutes.

“We need to be tough, but also good and disciplined with the ball.

“Those are the big things we’ve spoken about.”

https://forty20.news/chester-to-hand-de ... on-sunday/
Anyone can support a team when it is winning, that takes no courage.
But to stand behind a team, to defend a team when it is down and really needs you,
that takes a lot of courage. #18thMan
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