Giants reserves are fantastic says coach

Jun 8 2009 by Chris Roberts, Huddersfield Daily Examiner

PROUD Giants Reserve coach Paul Cook has heaped praise on his players after an excellent first half to their Championship campaign.

Cook’s second string made it eight wins from 12 starts with a hard-fought 30-16 triumph over Hull KR at Laund Hill at the weekend.

That win kept the Giants third in the table and on course for a big shot at the end-of-season play-offs.

And Cook admits he couldn’t be happier with the way his team is progressing.

“We’ve reached the halfway stage of the season, and I think we’ve done fantastic,” he said.

“It’s not been easy trying to keep a settled side, because of the number of players we’ve sent out on loan.

“On top of that we’ve also had our fair share of knocks, and (Super League squad man) Larne Patrick is now out for about four weeks with a shoulder injury.

“But we always seem to find a way of overcoming these hurdles, and I can’t speak more highly of the players for doing that.

“To be third is a tremendous effort, and a credit to the way everyone is prepared to work.”

That strong work ethic in Cook’s side was once again to the fore as the Giants beat off a strong Hull KR side.

Despite spending large parts of the second half camped on their own tryline, the home side refused to crumble, much to their coach’s delight.

“In the last four games we’ve been averaging 40 points a game,” he added.

“But this game against Hull KR was a totally different matter.

“They’re a strong side with a great youth development structure, so any win against them is good.

“But it was the manner of the win that really pleased me.

“We were put under a lot of pressure in the second half and didn’t help ourselves with the number of errors we made.

“But we stuck to our task in defence superbly and took our chances well.