Two sides on a poor run of form, Warrington Wolves and
Huddersfield Giants met on Saturday afternoon as eighth took on eleventh, the
latter looking for their second victory of the season.
Warrington were strong favourites for the win and were
handicapped by fourteen points on the coupon, a larger margin than they enjoyed
in the 20-12 first round win, despite the Giants recent upturn in form which
saw them come close to upsetting the Wigan Warriors last time out.
Huddersfield held their own in the early exchanges, forcing
errors from a Warrington side themselves low on confidence, but the game had
the feel that once the Wolves clicked, they could cut loose.
On fourteen minutes, Tui Lolohea intercepted a wayward pass
on his own twenty and sprinted to the Wolves twenty line before finding Jacob Gagai
on his inside who outpaced the chasers and crossed by the right upright,
improving the angle for the kick. George Flanagan added the conversion for 6-0,
somewhat against the run of play, and silencing the home support.
After being given a penalty for a late tackle on the kicker,
the Giants took full advantage with their second of the game. Jake Bibby
finished off a Sam Halsall pass after some great work by Flanagan in the build-up.
Flanagan was on target from the left touchline for a 12-0 lead.
Marc Sneyd stepped twice and then pushed his way over the
line under the attention of two defenders on twenty-five with a move from the
back of the scrum to get Warrington back into the game. Sneyd added the extras,
the margin back to six points.
Catching Warrington offside on thirty, referee Vella awarded
a penalty which Flanagan kicked with ease to move his side back into an eight-point
lead.
With a planned move from the back of the scrum, Taane Milne
scored the third Giants try of the afternoon as Lolohea took the ball and first
receiver and passed to his centre to come inside and dive in. Flanagan added
the conversion for a 20-6 lead, the Warrington crowd near silent.
A great tackle from Gagai prevented Toby King from scoring
down the eft wing on fifty-nine, moments after the disappointment of the Giants
having a try ruled out moments earlier for an obstruction.
Lolohea kicked a 40-20 on sixty-two to turn defence into
attack. Within a minute Gagai took a Cudjoe floated pass to dive in at the
right corner to put the game beyond the Wolves. Flanagan was wide with the
conversion, his first miss of the afternoon.
Needing three converted tries to draw level, Warrington
stepped up a gear. A Sneyd high kick to the corner was caught by Toby King, without
any opposition, and he dotted down in the corner. Sneyd added the touchline
conversion, the Wolves needing twelve more.
An incredible try by Jake Thewlis on seventy-four set up an
exciting finish, the winger taking the ball above his head and grounding at
full stretch by the right corner flag as the Giants tried to force him dead in
touch. Sneyd was wide with the conversion attempt to leave the margin as still
eight points with four minutes remaining.
The Giants managed to repel the Warrington attack in the
closing minutes to record only their second win of the campaign and inflict
further misery on a Warrington Wolves side who are deep in the doldrums and who
are now in danger of struggling to make the top six.
Warrington Wolves: Thewlis Josh, Thewlis Jake (T), Tai, Wrench,
King (T), Williams, Sneyd (T G 2/3), Yates, Crowther, Vaughan, Stone, Fitzgibbon,
Currie. Subs: Powell, Thomas, Philbin, Wood.
18th Man: Gardner.
Huddersfield Giants: Flanagan (G 4/5), Bibby Jake (T),
Halsall, Milne (T), Gagai (2T), Frawley, Lolohea, King, Woolford, Powell,
Hewitt, Greenwood, Cudjoe. Subs: Golding, English, Burgess, Rushton. 18th
Man: Bibby Jack.
Half-Time: 6-14.
Full-Time: 16-24.
Score Progression: 0-4, 0-6, 0-10, 0-12, 4-12, 6-12, 6-14:
HT: 6-18, 6-20, 6-24, 10-24, 12-24, 16-24 :FT.
Lead Exchanges: Huddersfield.
Referee: James Vella.
