Giants keeping their coaching options open

Friday 11 August 2000 00:00 BST

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The Super League relegation candidates, Huddersfield-Sheffield, have delayed announcing their new coach until they have interviewed the one Australian candidate.

The Giants were due to select the man to succeed the sacked John Kear yesterday from a short-list of five, but now want to talk on Sunday to Tony Smith, who is assistant at Parramatta to his brother Brian, the former Hull and Bradford coach.

Five British coaches - Andy Goodway, Andy Kelly, Brian Noble, Mike Ford and John Pendlebury - have been linked with the position, but the caretaker pairing of Phil Veivers and Jeff Hardy will remain in charge for Sunday's game against Leeds.

Smith is flying to Britain after Parramatta's play-off game against Penrith tomorrow. The fact that the Giants are going to that trouble suggests that Super League might still have no British coach next week.

Bradford must try to arrest their recent slump without their captain, Robbie Paul, against Castleford tonight. Paul could be back in a month after breaking two ribs and puncturing his lung, but his absence will give Paul Deacon, a candidate for England's World Cup squad, a chance to start at scrum-half, with James Lowes captaining the side from hooker.

Fifth-placed Castleford have Dean Sampson back after serving a suspension for retaliation, with a promise to behave himself in future. The England prop has been sent off 10 times in his career, including twice in his last three appearances at Odsal. The winger Jon Wells is also back after injury.

Michael McDonald and Monique Baumann, the Australian couple credited with much of the marketing success that saw Castleford named as Super League's Club of the Year in 1999, are to leave at the end of the season.

The Melbourne prop, Rodney Howe, has withdrawn from the Australian squad for the World Cup in order to have a shoulder operation.

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