IN THE end the Giants got exactly what they deserved out of their opening home game of the new Super League campaign – but they had to keep their nerve to take the two points due to them.
They started like an express train and it would have been no surprise had they been out of sight by the 20-minute mark, but the points did not flood in and in the end it took patience and persistence to see off a Hull side who clawed their way back into the contest.
There was no doubting that Huddersfield really hurt Hull with a blistering start, but equally the Airlie Birds were not helping themselves and there were moments they might have lived to regret as they conceded a number of penalties deep in their own territory.
Initially it did appear that the Giants were going to make the Humbersiders pay a heavy price as they raced into a 10-point lead with just under 10 minutes on the clock.
And it was Hull-born winger David Hodgson who once again proved a thorn in the side of his hometown team.
He opened the scoring after just four minutes with a solo effort that saw him recover a ball that had gone to ground from a Danny Brough pass and, from the touchline, he stepped his way inside to cut through the Hull defence and score – Brough adding the goal.
Hodgson plainly loves the sight of the black and white shirts because the score ensured that in the last five meetings of the clubs the winger has scored in four of the games, and he was over the line again on nine minutes when he won the race to touch down from a cleverly angled Brough kick to the corner.
The scrum half failed to inflict more hurt on his former club as he missed with the goal attempt, but it hardly seemed to matter against a Hull side who were so rocked back on their heels that they had to kick out from under their own posts three times in the early stages and had barely crossed the halfway line once.
Brough went close to carving an opening for full back Scott Grix on the quarter hour, but the raiding Giant was held up a yard short and, seven minutes later, the impressive Shaun Lunt looked to dive over from acting half back but was also held out as the Airlie Birds held firm.
Hull eventually managed to make some ground and from their first serious sojourn into Giants territory they came away with points as a smart move right caught the home defence stretched and centre Jordan Turner cut through to score with the comfort of a two-man overlap outside him.
The two extra points went begging, but the score certainly had a galvanising effect on the previously out of sorts Humbersiders and Hodgson was fortunate that Hull winger Will Sharp was offside as he tried to pounce as the Giant struggled to deal with a bouncing kick.
Their confidence burgeoned after half-time as they made the perfect start.
Sharp this time got his reward after five minutes of the second period with Hull’s slick handling again creating a significant overlap and the former Harlequins wing, who had interested the Giants, cruised in to score.
Joe Westerman added the goal to tie the scores and it was up to the Giants to turn the tide.
It was a job they went about very effectively as they managed to start stifling Hull once again by picking up their defensive work and slowly but surely they began to make in-roads in attack.
An excellent run by centre Leroy Cudjoe almost paved the way for Jermaine McGillvary to get to the line and, soon after, Grix was once again held up a yard out.
On 62 minutes the Giants had their noses back in front when a move that appeared to be dying out was suddenly sparked by a superb off-load by prop Eorl Crabtree, who produced an immense display, and ended with centre Michael Lawrence spinning out of the clutches of his Hull marker to get over the line. Again Brough failed to find the target with his kick, but the balance had been tipped and the Giants just needed find a way to kill off the contest.
They duly did that with five minutes remaining as half backs Brough and skipper Kevin Brown produced a sparkling fourth try, with the stand off timing his run to meet the scrum half’s kick into the space behind the Hull defence to perfection and cruise round the full back to score under the posts.
Brough added the kick, to leave him one goal short of the 800 mark in his career, and the Giants were home and hosed.
It had taken some hard graft to ensure victory, but this will not be the only occasion this campaign when Nathan Brown’s troops will have to dig deep to claim their rightful reward.
