THREE away trips against fellow top six Super League sides in the past month and three defeats by conceding 40 points.

That's the harsh reality for coach Jon Sharp and his depleted squad after losing 40-12 to second-placed Hull at the KC Stadium.

The reverse comes on the back of a 40-18 defeat at Wigan and then another 40-12 scoreline at Bradford.

It's a sign of the gap that still exists between the sixth-placed Giants and those at the very top of the Super League pile.

But, conversely, it's also a sign that may be, just may be, the McAlpine club are slowly closing that gap on the top teams.

That may seem strange given the concession of 40 points for a third away trip on the trot.

But those visits to three of the five sides already nailed on for a place in the top six play-offs have come during the middle of the Giants' major injury crisis.

How different it could have been had Sharp been able to name a full-strength squad for all three trips!

At Hull yesterday, the head coach was again lacking the services of a number of key first-choice players.

Darren Turner is now, of course, ruled out for the season with a knee injury, but also missing were Julian Bailey (cheekbone), Brandon Costin (hamstring), Paul March (calf) and Mick Slicker (hernia).

All five would have been certain starters if fit.

Furthermore, Jon Grayshon (ankle) and Iain Morrison (sternum) may also have figured if question marks hadn't remained over their fitness.

Yet even without so many players - and centre Ben Cooper is, of course, still out on loan at Leigh - there were times during the Hull contest when they gave their hosts a genuine run for their money.

After eight minutes, they held a deserved 4-0 lead and then in the 58th minute Jim Gannon's first try of the season reduced the deficit to 24-12 and it was game on.

Yet when it came to the crunch, the Giants lacked the quality and composure of Hull and the final outcome was inevitable.

While the Giants had midfield generals of the calibre of Costin and March watching from the sidelines, the home side had the luxury of letting the likes of Richard Horne, Paul Cooke, Richard Swain and Jason Smith take it in turns to dictate the play.

An embarrassment of riches or what!

And how much Sharp would have loved to have been in such a privileged position.

But he should still take heart from the way his depleted side were prepared to battle against the odds.

In the first half Hull produced some outstanding attacking play, underlining why they had already beaten Salford 82-6 and Widnes 70-4 at the KC this season.

Yet the Giants defence proved a tougher nut to crack, with Paul Reilly (twice), Stanley Gene and Chris Nero all pulling off try-scoring tackles.

Gene's effort came after just three minutes to deny Gareth Raynor.

But the former Hull star was to make an even bigger impact on attack five minutes later, helping to create the opening try for Paul White.

Gene's lovely chip over the defence was gathered by Stuart Donlan and the winger drew full-back Shaun Briscoe before feeding the pass to White to finish off.

Unfortunately, he was unable to add the conversion and then, almost immediately from the restart, he was pulled back for a forward pass inside his own half.

From the scrum, Hull whipped the ball across to the left for Raynor to brush past three would-be tacklers to score.

Cooke added the extras and the home side had a lead they were never to lose.

For the remainder of the half it was all Hull, and had it not been for Huddersfield's last-ditch defensive effort the game could have been over as a contest by the break.

As it was, Hull had to settle for two further unconverted tries from Michael Eagar and Peter Lupton and two Cooke penalties to make it 18-4.

Midway through the second half, however, there were genuine hopes of a Giants fightback as they trailed just 24-12.

White reduced the deficit with an early penalty before Ewan Dowes crashed over under the posts for a converted score.

But when prop Gannon took advantage of a mix-up between Best and Raynor to score a try, converted by White, the contest was back in the melting pot.

Unfortunately, in the final quarter, Hull regained the initiative, with Horne, Richard Whiting and Shaun Briscoe scoring further tries to give the final scoreline a look that in the end did little justice to the way Huddersfield had played.

 Huddersfield's Academy teams experienced mixed fortunes over the weekend.

The Seniors had a comfortably 42-10 triumph at Doncaster, while the Juniors suffered their first defeat of the campaign, going down 24-14 at Salford - full reports tomorrow.