Giants come on strong

Huddersfield Giants ran in three tries in the last 20 minutes to secure a 22-4 victory over Hull FC and open up a two-point lead at the top of Stobart Super League.

Hull looked set to extend their six-match winning run and take over at the top when they led 4-2 after a scoreless hour of an error-strewn game at the Galpharm Stadium.

But the Giants, who always looked the livelier side, finally got on top in the final quarter, running in tries through Eorl Crabtree, Luke Robinson and Joe Wardle, with chief architect Danny Brough kicking five goals.

The final score was harsh on Hull but they will have a chance to quickly gain their revenge when the sides meet again in the Challenge Cup at the KC Stadium on Sunday.

It is to be hoped that contest is of a higher standard for both teams looked jaded playing their second Super League games in four days.

Huddersfield coach Nathan Brown had the chance to rotate his squad, with second rower Jonny Molloy making his first appearance of the season, but Hull's 33-year-old assistant coach Lee Radford was forced to continue his comeback in response to his club's injury crisis.

Injuries also caused early disruption to both teams, with Huddersfield losing former Hull hooker Tommy Lee with a knee problem after only two minutes and Hull's ex-Huddersfield second rower Martin Aspinwall going off with a similar injury midway through the first half.

In a scoreless first half, ex-Hull scrum-half Brough kicked a penalty on 15 minutes in reply to Danny Tickle's earlier effort and he had the best try-scoring chance of the half, Hull centre Kirk Yeaman coming from behind to pull off a stunning tackle.

Blunders

That followed a break out of defence by full-back Greg Eden, who showed glimpses of his talent among several blunders.

The error-prone Eden was not on his own as a series of handling mistakes in the wet conditions prevented either side from finding any fluency and made for a scrappy first half.

Hull lived dangerously in the second half, surviving a scare when Brett Seymour lost the ball in Robinson's tackle 20 metres out from his own line only for Scott Grix to kick the ball dead.

Grix then broke clear but Seymour and Danny Houghton combined to hold him up over the line and it was against the run of play that Hull came up with the next score.

Willie Manu was obstructed as he chased his own kick on the last tackle and Tickle, who did well to recover from a heavy head knock, stepped up to kick his second goal to restore his side's lead.

However, it was no surprise when Huddersfield went in front for the first time, Crabtree powering his way through a tiring Hull defence on 61 minutes.

That opened the floodgates, with Robinson forcing his way over from dummy half and Brough breaking clear for centre Wardle to touch down.