HUDDERSFIELD’S rotation policy yet again paid off as they cruised to a convincing victory over Wakefield to ensure they head into Friday’s home Super League XVI top-of-the-table clash with Warrington in the best possible shape.

The Giants looked far from smooth in the opening period, with head coach Nathan Brown again ringing the changes after last week’s impressive win at Hull KR.

There was no Kevin Brown, Eorl Crabtree, David Fa’alogo, Lee Gilmour, David Hodgson and Luke O’Donnell.

As a result, the home side struggled to get into their stride against a hard-working Wakefield side.

But in the end, the Giants, extra class and strength of squad came to the fore to guarantee a sixth success from eight starts.

To be honest, there was hardly any suggestion of what the final outcome would be given the events of the first 40 minutes.

In fact, the Wildcats were unlucky not to take the lead in the third minute when Luke George just failed to collect Ben Jeffries’ grubber before the ball went dead.

That, however, acted as an initial Giants’ wake-up call.

Within two minutes Shaun Lunt had been held up over the line before the pressure eventually told, with Luke Robinson ducking under heavy traffic to score from close range.

Danny Brough failed to add the extras.

But having broken the Wakefield resistance so early, there was hope among the home faithful that this could be a sign of things to come.

Unfortunately, that couldn’t have been further from the truth.

The longer the game went on, the more the Wildcats warmed to the task, with the Giants restricted to several half-chances as the visitors’ defence held firm.

It was no surprise, therefore, when coach John Kear’s brave battlers drew level with an unconverted try in the corner from Chris Dean after 12 minutes and threatened on several other occasions.

But with the introduction of substitutes Darrell Griffin, Scott Grix, and Larne Patrick to added some extra spark, Huddersfield finished the half the stronger.

And that was rewarded on the half-time hooter when Brough landed a straightforward penalty to give his side the narrowest of interval advantages.