Giants grind out hard-earned win

Apr 7 2003 By Chris Roberts, The Huddersfield Daily Examiner

Wildcats 10 - 14 Giants. VICTORIES in Super League should be cherished, however they are secured.

Whether they are achieved by producing a dazzling attacking display to beat Super League champions St Helens or by grinding out a win at Wakefield Trinity Wildcats, all points are very gratefully received.

This latest top-flight triumph at Belle Vue will not go down as a classic, but in so many ways it was just as impressively earned as the stunning Saints' success the previous week.

In the opening half, they were clearly second best to a Trinity side who defended well inside their own half and broke with power and pace from deep. It was an indication of why they had won at Castleford the week before.

But it was the manner in which the Giants were committing so many unforced errors that was the major cause for concern.

Yet even though Huddersfield were finding it impossible to live up to the high standards set against St Helens, they were still able to go in at the break just 10-4 adrift.

No doubt in Super League years gone by and in the face of such an opposition onslaught, the Giants would have been at least 20 points behind at the halfway stage.

They would not have had the strength of character, the skill or the desire to hold out hosts who were enjoying the upper hand.

But this Giants side under coach Tony Smith is a completely different kettle of fish.

Huddersfield had what it takes to dig deep and grind out a win that was very gratefully received.