Champion show is spur for final

Sep 23 2002 By Chris Roberts, The Huddersfield Daily Examiner

Giants 36 - 10 Leigh. MAGNIFICENT Huddersfield Giants are just 80 minutes away from Grand Final glory and a return to Super League!

And after the way they easily polished off main title rivals Leigh Centurions in the preliminary semi-final, would anyone dare bet again them?

Although their opponents clearly gave it their best shot, they were simply unable to match the pace, power and all-round ability of the unbeaten NFP minor champions.

But what made this 29th win on the trot all the more encouraging was that it was achieved by a Huddersfield side that wasn't even firing on all cylinders.

Some of the credit for that has to go to the way Leigh went about their business, with their defensive effort in the opening 15 minutes far superior to any seen by visitors to the McAlpine this year.

However, if the Giants hadn't squandered several good openings or been guilty of a couple of lapses of concentration which gave Leigh their tryscoring opportunities in the second half, the margin of victory could have been far greater.

Furthermore, the fact that Hefin O'Hare spent 10 second-half minutes in the sin-bin and coach Tony Smith gave the likes of influential back-rowers Steve McNamara and Rob Roberts well-deserved `breathers' also contributed to a score that let Leigh off the hook.

Fortunately, the positives still far outweighed the negatives and the Giants were able to book their trip to Widnes for the October 12 Grand Final with the minimum amount of fuss.

Leigh, on the other hand, must prepare for a second shot at getting to the final in a fortnight, albeit with a squad that left the McAlpine beaten, battered and bruised.

Within the opening 22 minutes half-backs Bobbie Goulding and John Duffy were on their way to hospital with a suspected broken jaw and broken leg respectively.