It's official: 24 days until Super League begins with our trip to Hull!
Wearing the number 24 shirt this year is Tyler Dickinson. After representing England Academy and signing a full-time contract in 2015, the forward made his debut in 2016 and had his breakout year in 2017, playing in 11 games, and getting his first try on his 21st birthday. We caught up with him to see how preseason was going, and what his aims were for 2018.
Hi Tyler. The team's 2 months into preseason now, how have things been going?
Preseason has been good, hard as you'd expect but very rugby-specific. The conditioning and physio staff have done a class job getting us into shape, so just excited for the games now!
Last year was an inconsistent one for the Giants, what are the club hoping to achieve in 2018?
Yeah it was a below-par one for ourselves, in our eyes anyway. We are looking to push for that top 4 and get the club back to where it should be - challenging for trophies and playing consistent rugby.
2017 was a breakout year for you, playing in 11 first-team games, getting a debut try on your birthday and finishing with a huge 95% tackle success rate, missing less than one per game. What are your personal goals for the new season?
Yeah 2017 was a big year for me and I guess the big goal for me this year is to beat that 11-game mark and cement myself in the first team. You have to aim high otherwise, you won't get anywhere in this game.
A few of our younger players have been sent on loan for 2018, but you were kept in the squad and earned a brand new deal in September. Do you see yourself becoming a first-team regular in 2018?
I hope so, that's always been the goal for me. I feel like I've done a big chunk out on loan in the past sort of three or four years and I'm always looking to better myself.
If you had to sum up your expectations for our 2018 season in 3 words, what would you say?
Successful, Consistent, Winning