An Academy season that started so promisingly has sadly faded away.
After claiming some notable scalps early on, the Giants Under 19s have been left picking up the pieces after falling to a crushing 38-12 home defeat to Salford Red Devils in their Phase II top-of-the-table clash.
No-one’s to blame for the way it’s petered out, it’s purely one of those things.
For much of the campaign, Academy head coach Chris Thorman has been denied the services of his top Under 19s performers, with the Giants eager to let the club’s most talented youngsters gain valuable experience on loan at Championship clubs. That’s obviously the best way of judging whether they have what it takes to handle life at a higher level.
As a result, Thorman has never been afforded the luxury of fielding a settled side which has been led by the top young guns.
That, unfortunately, is always the fear for any head coach at this level, with results secondary to developing players who may one day be good enough to take the next big step up into Super League.
This season, Jared Simpson and Mikey Wood have shown they’ve got what it takes to earn full-time Super League deals for next season, so in that respect this year has been something of a success.
Back-row forward Wood’s current loan spell at Halifax ruled him out of playing against the Red Devils at the weekend, although full-back Simpson was part of a makeshift Giants side that was well beaten at the DRAM Centre.
Huddersfield spent virtually all of the game on the back foot, with Salford building up a 22-0 interval lead and then doing what was required after the break to remain in the driving seat.
But the hosts did at least manage two late tries from Danny Sowerby and Izaac Farrell, who also added the goals, to take something from the contest.
