Stone proud

a lot of that down to the emotion of the occasion.

“I think everyone can feel a little bit proud of the club,” Stone said. “We’ve not had a lot to cheer about in the last couple of weeks.

“It probably has been emotional, particularly for those boys who have been at the club for a while. They understand Jennifer’s influence on Ken and how he got initially involved in the Giants, she being a Huddersfield girl and a rugby league fan.

“That’s how it all started a long time ago, such a classy lady and a classy couple.

“It was good to see the boys show that sort of emotion and courage and desire.

“It’s a bit disappointing at times to think that something like this needs to happen, but we can be proud of our efforts.”

The scores were locked at 12-12 at half-time but the Giants seized control with two tries in five minutes from Dale Ferguson and Darnell McIntosh before a late touchdown from Oliver Roberts put the seal on a first win in 10 matches.

“We definitely stood up and competed hard for the whole 80 minutes,” said Stone, who believed the kicking game of skipper Danny Brough was crucial in wet conditions.

“The conditions probably suited us. Any time you’ve got Broughy in those conditions it helps. We had more intent in our defence, that was the main thing.

“We forced Leeds into a few errors and that sucked the juice out of them in the second half.

“It was good to see a happy dressing room for a change. It’s up to the boys to realise if that’s the yardstick, they have to produce that effort every week.”

England manager Gareth Southgate, opting for Headingley rather than the Etihad as a guest of the Rhinos Foundation, was