Pre-season match report: Giants 24 - 28 Wigan Warriors

Jan 26 2009 by Chris Roberts, Huddersfield Daily Examiner

CRUELLEST FINALE

AT half-time of the Giants’ second major pre-season hit-out, the fans couldn’t have been happier!

Head coach Nathan Brown’s new-look side were in complete Galpharm control against opponents Wigan and were full value for their 18-4 interval advantage.

But 40 minutes later, Brown and his men were reflecting on a 28-24 defeat, with the Warriors having snatched the winning try with virtually the last play of the game.

That score was cruel indeed on the Giants, who up until that moment looked on course to back up last Sunday’s 28-20 triumph at Castleford with another morale-boosting success ahead of their Super League XIV opener at Catalans Dragon on February 14.

But should the Giants be too upset at the way the contest finished?

Obviously, everyone inside the home camp would have loved to have triumphed, even if there weren’t two League points at stake.

However, for the second week running, it was only when the wholesale changes were taking place in the second half that Huddersfield lost their momentum and allowed their opponents to claw their way back.

Just like at Castleford seven days previously, when Brown’s Giants had a strong 13 on the field for the start of the game, they were by far the stronger force.

And against the Warriors, their visitors found it hard to keep in touch.

After an ill-tempered opening in which Keith Mason and Gareth Hock squared up on more than one occasion, the Giants slowly began to take control.

With Scott Moore showing up strongly, it was no great surprise when smart interplay between Kevin Brown and Stephen Wild created the opening for Simon Finnigan to cross for his first Giants try after 14 minutes.

Six minutes later, Mark Riddell levelled the scores with the softest of close-range scores.

But for the remainder of the half, it was all Huddersfield.