Rick Stone is looking for his Huddersfield Giants to build on their strong second-half defensive performance against Wakefield when they host Hull FC at the John Smith’s Stadium on Thursday night.

Huddersfield benefited from a heart-to-heart talk at half-time as they came from 16-8 down to beat Wakefield 24-16 in their second home Betfred Super League clash of the season on Friday night.

The victory helped ease some of the pain of their opening 30-20 home defeat to Salford Red Devils the week before.

And Stone knows that if his side doesn’t build on their defensive second-half heroics against Wakefield, then Hull FC could take full advantage.

Huddersfield coach Rick Stone said: “We had a good hard look at ourselves at half-time. We had a good chat and a few of the senior guys spoke up.

“Defensively we needed to improve. Wakefield had a pretty good first half but they were rolling us down the field far too easily and the score could have been worse at half-time.

“It took a while for us to get it right but they stayed at it and got a result which will hopefully give them a bit of belief going forward.

Huddersfield Giants' Jermaine McGillvary scores his side's clinching fifth try against Wakefield Trinity. Picture by John Rushworth

“It was chalk and cheese compared to the first half. We showed some resolve and desire, and a willingness to work together was the main thing.

“We have to make sure we show those sort of qualities against Hull, because that’s going to be another real big test for us.”

The Giants had made a dream start with two tries in three minutes from teenage centre Sam Wood, his first in Super League, but Trinity then seized control and were good value for their interval lead as winger Ben Jones-Bishop grabbed two tries, one of them a spectacular 90-metre effort, to add to hooker Liam Finn’s solo close range effort.

But the home side were transformed in the second half and finished strongly with three tries in the final quarter through Ukuma Ta’ai, Oliver Roberts and Jermaine McGillvary, while acting captain Danny Brough kicked two goals to take his career points tally to 3,440 and climb into the top 10 of the all-time list.

Yet again hooker Kruise Leeming was the star of the show with another man-of-the-match display, although Stone is still demanding a lot more from the 21-year-old.

Huddersfield Giants' Shannon Wakeman and Kruise Leeming halt a Wakefield Wildcats drive Betfred Super League XXII Huddersfield v Wakefield 24/02/17 (Pic by John Rushworth)

“Kruise was good again, that’s for sure,” added Stone.

“He earned the right to start against Wakefield after the way he had performed against Salford the week before, and the fact this was the first time he had played a full 80 minutes at Super League level was another significant moment for him.

“But, as I keep saying, there’s still a lot for him to work on in his game.

“He worked tremendously hard during pre-season, which is why we’re seeing a lot more from him right now, so I expect to keep seeing him continue to work hard and keep on improving.”

Sport’s brave new trans-Atlantic era kicked off amid a mudbath on a rain-lashed Halifax hillside on a day the assorted international stars of Toronto Wolfpack will not easily forget.

Siddal's Sean McCormack (Left) tackles Toronto Wolfpack's Fui Fui Moi Moi during the Ladbrokes Challenge Cup match at Siddal ARLFC

Rugby league’s latest and most ambitious expansion outfit prevailed 14-6 against amateur champions Siddal in their first competitive outing, but were forced twice to dredge themselves back from behind in order to avoid an historic Challenge Cup third-round upset.

Beamed live worldwide via the BBC, the Wolfpack’s big debut had threatened to sink deeper than the touchline mud when Gareth Blackburn kicked the hosts into a first-half lead, then again when the same player was sent in for their only try shortly after the break.

Late tries from Greg Worthington and Adam Sidlow dug Toronto out of a hole but they had New Zealand star Fuifui Moimoi sent off late on a game that ultimately said more about the great talent in the game’s true heartland than the glamorous quest to send it spinning around the globe.