THE REVIEW: GIANTS VS HULL KR

Check out our review of the Giants victory against Hull KR on Friday

Huddersfield welcomed Hull KR to the John Smith’s stadium on Friday night, as both sides looked to drag themselves further away from the drop zone.

The Giants overturned a 16-8 half-time deficit to walk away with the two points after an impressive second half display saw them emerge as 30-22 winners to widen the gap between themselves and the drop, whilst also closing the gap on the top five. 

Match Highlights

Photo Gallery

📸 Check out our best shots from Friday's win over Hull KR

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— Huddersfield Giants (@Giantsrl) May 20, 2019

What Happened

The Giants took the lead in this game, Jordan Turner passed the ball wide for Jermaine McGillvary to stroll in the corner in the fourth minute.

Joe Wardle was then sent off for the hosts in the eight minutes, a minute before Junior Vaivai then responded for the Robins, a cut-out pass by Craig Hall allowed Vaivai to stroll in for the visitors.

We come away with the two points 💪#HuddersfieldBorn 🐮🔔 pic.twitter.com/ySj2VWOYQH
— Huddersfield Giants (@Giantsrl) May 17, 2019

The Giants then regained the lead whilst down to twelve men, a quick play the ball resulted in Innes Senior putting the ball down in the left corner whilst under pressure from Craig Hall.

Two tries in quick succession then gave the visitors the lead heading into half-time. Firstly, the Giants were caught out by a quick tap penalty by Joel Tomkins in the 30^th minute before three minutes later, Hall added to the visitors lead, scoring after a kick through by Josh Drinkwater.

McGillvary then got his second twelve minutes into the second half after a looping pass for left to right by Lee Gaskell. Joe Wardle added a second try of the half for the Giants, with a strong carry from short range.

Jake Wardle then scored a special try of his own. Hull KR lost the ball near the Giants line; the centre then picked the ball up before stepping Hall ten metres from the Hull KR line and he then ran around Ryan Shaw to ground the ball. Antoni Maria was then sinbinned for the visitors before Kruise Leeming then got the home sides final try of the game, stepping a couple of Rovers defenders before grounding the ball to the left of the sticks.

Danny Addy then responded for the visitors with a dummy two minutes from time, but it was too little too late as the Giants emerged 30-22 victors. 

Key Moment

The key moment in the game was the superb brilliance of Jake Wardle to put the Giants on level terms in the game.

The Giants had struggled with their conversions on the night, kicking two of their six attempts. They did also convert a penalty which gave them an eight-point cushion in the game. 

🌬️

🔥 Jake Wardle raced 80m to score in last Friday's 30-22 win over @hullkrofficial

Can we make it 2⃣ from 2⃣ against their city rivals this week at @daciauk #MagicWeekend?

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— Huddersfield Giants (@Giantsrl) May 20, 2019

What to take from the game

With the London Broncos beating Wakefield Trinity this weekend, it was a massive victory for the Giants.

The Giants are four points away from the playoffs, and with matches against Hull in 4th and a June involving games against Castleford (5th - beaten 20-18 at home), St Helens (1st - lost 22-16 at home in the Challenge Cup), Wigan (8th - beaten 14-6 away) and Wakefield (6th - lost 17-16 and 25-26 this season), a run of victories could unsettle a dense pack and take points away from key rivals in the lead-up to the run-in later on in the season. 

The victory means that it is two wins from two games against the Robins for the Giants so far this season. It is even more crucial taking points off the sides below them in the table as they look to bring themselves into the top five battle.

Looking ahead

Fourth placed Hull FC up next for Huddersfield, at the Dacia Magic Weekend It gives the Giants to close the gap between themselves and the playoffs even more. Only six points currently separate the two sides. 

🌟 The #CowbellArmy are travelling in big numbers and we need your support for the #DaciaMagicWeekend!

Tickets are still available 🔗 https://t.co/rFrboRFZuR#HuddersfieldBorn pic.twitter.com/ko546ItRg2
— Huddersfield Giants (@Giantsrl) May 18, 2019

The black and whites are coming into the game off the back of an impressive 19-12 win at second placed Warrington Wolves. 

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