Brown relishing French trip

Nathan Brown is hoping the sun will shine on his Huddersfield side's Super League title prospects after arriving in south France.

The Giants escaped from the cold snap by flying to Perpignan 48 hours ahead of the game against Catalan Dragons at Stade Gilbert Brutus as they look to consolidate their place at the top of the table.

"It's great," said Brown. "I don't think there is any side that doesn't enjoy making the trip, even though they know it is a hard game.

"I really enjoy going to Catalan. It is a totally different fixture to any other that you play in the competition.

"You are visiting a coastal town that may be 25 degrees and sunny. More than just the Aussies look forward to going there."

The trip to France will be no picnic for Brown's men, however. The Dragons are only four points behind the Giants with a game in hand and are unbeaten at Stade Gilbert Brutus this season.

Brown knows how tough it is to win in Perpignan, having seen his side go down 13-12 there last season, courtesy of a long-range drop goal from Scott Dureau, and is full of admiration for the free-flowing style of rugby played by Trent Robinson's men.

"The Dragons are a challenging side, the stadium has a good atmosphere and, with a bit of luck, you get some good weather so you can play a bit of footy," he added.

Like Huddersfield, the Dragons are going for glory on both fronts, having reached the last eight of the Carnegie Challenge Cup, and they face a tricky quarter-final against Warrington next Sunday.

"We've got a couple of big home games coming up," said Robinson. "It will be a big test. We've a couple of big weeks now."

Robinson welcomes the return of full-back Clint Greenshields, with Thomas Bosc set to move on to the wing in place of youngster Damien Cardace, while Huddersfield are also virtually at full-strength.

Skipper Kevin Brown returns, along with Eorl Crabtree, Michael Lawrence, Jermaine McGillvary and Larne Patrick after being rested for the cup tie against Swinton, but Lee Gilmour stayed behind in England to be with his wife, who is due to give birth to their second child on the day of the game.