Points plus as Giants run riot

Jun 17 2002 By Doug Thomson, The Huddersfield Daily Examiner

Giants 76 - 12 Chorley Lynx. HUDDERSFIELD'S hopes of setting a 27-year club best for successive clean sheets might have ended within 90 seconds of the kick-off.

But while Chorley avoided becoming the Giants' third opponents in a row to be nilled, once the Lynx effect had worn off, there was never any chance of a shock as Tony Smith's men set a new Northern Ford Premiership record - and gave their point difference another big boost.

The figure now stands at 492, 259 better than the next highest, that of Leigh Centurions, whose 32-26 defeat at Featherstone Rovers represented another fillip in Huddersfield's NFP title bid.

While Leigh, who have three games in hand but are now 10 points adrift, failed to deliver the goods at Post Office Road, the Giants made it 16 matches without defeat, bettering Dewsbury's previous-best NFP run set back in 1999.

As a try count of 13 to two suggests, Chorley were simply outclassed, and as a sporting spectacle, this one-sided match left a little to be desired.

But the fans, watching their favourites on home soil for the first time in eight weeks, will still have enjoyed the procession of points, which featured first touchdowns of the season for prop Matthew Walker and Steve McNamara, playing at stand-off after Mark Moxon's late withdrawal because of an elbow problem forced a team reshuffle.

Both men went on to register second tries, and the eighth of McNamara's nine goals from 10 attempts took his total Giants points haul to 150.

There were also try doubles for Chris Langley, who impressed after moving to the second row from his usual wing berth, Ben Cooper and Stanley Gene.

And Hefin O'Hare's try took the Welsh winger's points haul in claret and gold to 100.

That 53rd-minute touchdown came in the middle of a run of five tries from successive sets of six.