Match report: Hull KR 0 - 30 Huddersfield Giants

Feb 22 2010 by Chris Roberts, Huddersfield Daily Examiner

A DOMINANT opening 40 minutes set the Giants on their way to an excellent second victory of their Super league XV season.

It was the perfect response to last week’s setback, also on the east coast at Hull FC, with Huddersfield producing the sort of rock-solid performance that had been at the heart of their 2009 success.

Although hosts Hull KR finished last season just one place below the Giants in fourth, they were completely and utterly outplayed by the men from the Galpharm.

And, even though David Hodgson deserves to hog the headlines with his well-taken hat trick, it was once again an excellent all-round team effort that made this stunning triumph possible.

Six tries to nil clearly sums up the way in which Huddersfield bossed the contest from start to finish.

But even though coach Nathan Brown will have been delighted to have seen his side run in half-a-dozen scores, it was probably the fact his side kept their hosts to zero that would have brought him the most cheer.

The Giants were obviously boosted ahead of the game by the return of inspirational captain Brett Hodgson after missing last week’s narrow defeat at Hull with a back strain and Shaun Lunt, who was fit to continue after initial fears he had suffered a broken left wrist at the KC Stadium.

But their last-minute preparations were still far from ideal, with heavy snow around the Huddersfield area making it touch and go as to whether all the players would dig themselves out of their houses in time to make it onto the team bus!

As a result, their start to the contest was far from polished, with the home side setting the early pace.

Only a great leap on his own line from Leroy Cudjoe after five minutes prevented Rovers from taking the lead after five minutes, and then the Robins ‘bombed’ a good chance a minute later.

But then, against the run of play, Man of Steel Hodgson began to take matters into his own hands.

Camped deep inside his own half, the full-back collected the ball and launched an amazing 40-20 to instantly turn defence in attack. From the scrum, Darrell Griffin took the drive to the line and Lunt was quickly in at half-back to stroll through an enormous gap to touch down under the posts for Hodgson to convert.

Rovers did threaten to find a way back when, following a break from halfway, Michael Lawrence scrambled back well to deny Peter Fox in the corner.

But from that moment on, the remainder of the half belonged solely to the Giants.

Within three minutes of that scare, the visitors had doubled their lead.

David Faiumu made good ground 40m out and fed Brett Hodgson, whose superb long, cut-out pass enabled namesake David to cross in the corner for his first try of the season. Hodgson then landed a magnificent touchline conversion, and Huddersfield were in control.

And that was reinforced five minutes later with try No2.