YOU always knew it was going to be one of those day!

The sight of Giants players arriving at the DW Stadium in threes and fours an hour before kick-off gave a massive hint of that.

When a side is about to face the in-form Super League champions in front of a bumper crowd, their preparation needs to be spot-on.

And against a team like Wigan that may still not be enough.

But having the added hassle of the team bus breaking down at Birch Services – still 20.6 miles from their destination – and then waiting to complete the journey in a fleet of taxis isn’t exactly a key part of a plan to concoct a winning recipe!

Quite rightly, the Giants refused to use this an excuse for the way they played. It could have had an initial brief effect, but nothing more than that.

But how they probably wish they had been left stranded at the M62 motorway service station, unable to find an alternative means of transport to get to their final destination!

Unfortunately for Brown’s boys, a suitable number of taxis were found and the players reached the stadium in enough time to complete their full warm-up drills.

To add to the visitors’ obvious embarrassment, the Giants needed to borrow the money for the fares off the Wigan club – and that proved the only piece of generosity the Warriors were prepared to show on the day.

As soon as the game got under way, the hosts were making Huddersfield pay a high price for the loan, punishing them severely for every error they made.

It was a sign of the ruthless streak that made Wigan the champions last year, and could well see them hold onto their crown this time around.

In contrast, huge question marks still remain over the Giants’ title credentials.