A MOMENT of individual flair from Geoff Stocks proved the difference between Huddersfield and their visitors from Swinton in a 7-2 win at Fartown.

Full-back Frank Dyson kicked a couple of penalties to cancel out one from Swinton’s Gowers, but neither side looked like breaking loose.

Low-scoring games are usually an indication of a great deal of forward battering, and this was certainly the case in this meeting, although there were plenty of attempts to get the backs into play on either side, but none were able to make that breakthrough.

Huddersfield gave away weight in the scrum, but Don Close allied enthusiastic backing-up in the loose with some quick striking at the set piece, while Don Devereux and Ken Noble succeeded in bundling men out of their way.

Mike Wicks had one good run, but was too ready to slow down and turn inside, and no-one had the speed off the mark to make a break down the middle.

It was left to Stocks, who had one of his best games, to make the result safe, when he charged towards the line, only to be hauled down a yard short, but he showed his quick-wittedness, by quickly tapping the ball forward over the line, darting round the marker and getting the faintest of touches to register the game’s only try.

As the Scout remarked in the Examiner: "It wasn’t a win to send supporters away jumping for joy, but it was a win soundly gained, and with Workington losing they are now fourth from the top of the table."

It must have lifted confidence – they went to Wembley later in the year to meet Wakefield Trinity in the Challenge Cup final.