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JAMAHL LOLESI is convinced the Huddersfield Giants’ rising stars will benefit in the long term from suffering a 58-6 thrashing at the hands of Halifax at The Shay.

A mixture of Huddersfield’s Under 20s and Under 18s were put to the sword by their full-strength hosts, who are tipped to contend for the Co-operative Championship this year under new coach Karl Harrison.

But even though the young Giants conceded a total of 12 tries and were on the back foot for almost all of the contest, Under 20s coach Lolesi was full of praise for their efforts.

And he is looking forward to seeing how they respond to yesterday’s experience when the competitive campaign gets under way.

“The boys might not realise it at the moment, but this experience could do them the world of good,” argued the former Giants star.

“They were understandably down at the end of the game, but I told them all how proud I was of their efforts, because I couldn’t have expected anything more from them.

“Halifax are a very, very good side, one of the best in the Championship, and with the quality of line-up they had out there they could give any side a lot of problems.

“In contrast, we fielded a team full of players who can still play for the Under 18s, never mind our Under 20s.

“But they never stopped trying from minute one to 80, and that’s all I could ask.

“As a result, I’m sure that when they drop back to the 18s or 20s, they’ll feel so much more comfortable because of what they have just experienced.”