Smith signing provides cheer

Jul 1 2002 By Chris Roberts, The Huddersfield Daily Examiner

There was no Paul Reilly, Ben Cooper, Stanley Gene, Chris Thorman, Mick Slicker, Jeff Wittenberg or Dave Atkins.

Furthermore, several players were playing out of position, while teenagers Jon Grayshon and Paul White were both handed their first games at the McAlpine Stadium.

Yet even so, the Giants should still have done far better than this.

The fact that within five minutes Eorl Crabtree had scored the easiest of tries and Heath Cruckshank and Hefin O'Hare had both been held up on the line suggested a Sunday afternoon stroll.

Unfortunately, this appeared to go straight to the Giants' heads and they played as if they could score on every play.

They soon discovered, however, that even against a side like Gateshead, nothing can be taken for granted.

In fact, they were handed a deserved lesson when hooker Chris Fletcher levelled the scores with a 16th-minute try.

That at least had the desired effect.

Within four minutes of the wake-up call, the home side were back on course as O'Hare crashed over to shatter any false Gateshead hopes.

Six minutes later, Andy Rice, Paul March and Graeme Hallas combined to send Chris Langley over in the corner and within minutes Heath Cruckshank had crashed over for his first try of the season.