Huddersfield Giants head coach Paul Anderson was more than happy with what he saw for 40 minutes at Wakefield.
Anderson’s side raced into a 32-0 half-time lead at Belle Vue, but then they took their foot off the gas and ended up with a 36-18 victory.
The result confirmed the Giants’ place in the play-offs, and Anderson was happy to take the win.
“I thought for 40 minutes we were damned near perfect,” he said.
“But I’ve just told the players if we want to be serious contenders, we have got to put together 80 minutes like the first 40.
“Overall it’s a win and we’ve taken advantage of some of the results over the weekend.
“It keeps the pressure on the clubs above us.
“To come up with the performance we did, especially with the injuries we’ve had, will give us some good momentum for the last few weeks.”
Hooker Shaun Lunt made an impressive return from a calf injury that has kept him out of the side for two months – replacing Kyle Wood who has been sidelined for the rest of the season with a knee ligament injury.
“Shaun’s a good player and we miss him when he’s not there,” said Anderson.
“It’s the first time for a long time that we’ve had our first-choice one, seven, six and nine on the field at the start.”
Winger Jodie Broughton and prop Antonio Kaufusi were left out of the matchday squad of 17 having picked up knocks in training.
