ENCOURAGING SHOW NOT QUITE ENOUGH AS SUPER 8S ON HORIZON

second phase of the competition, having finished regular season.

The return of Martyn Ridyard at half back after missing the 26-4 victory over his parent club Leigh Centurions allowed Giants head coach Rick Stone to move Lee Gaskell back into the centres in an otherwise unchanged line-up.

The more telling changes were made on the part of the home side, with Hull welcoming back skipper Gareth Ellis after a long-term injury, having damaged his sternum.

The Former Great Britain back row forward’s presence threatened to be a boost to a side who had lost their last three games - admittedly all on the road at Castleford, St Helens and Leeds.

And on the bench, Chris Green was also back to work for the Airlie Birds after missing most of the season through injury.

It was obvious after 10 minutes that this contest had all the potential to be a tight, slow-burner as neither defence gave anything away.

But on 12 minutes Hull came close to striking the first blow, only for Giants full-back Jordan Rankin to snap up a kick through and sensibly take the tackle behind his own line.

And it wasn’t too much later that the hosts took the lead when pressure led to second rower Mark Minichiello stretching over to dab the ball down. Marc Sneyd added the goal.

The Airlie Birds increased their lead within five minutes as Ellis made his presence felt and paved the way for Josh Bowden to force his way over and Sneyd made no mistake from in front of the posts with the kick.

The Giants were still far from off the pace and five minutes from the break they clawed six points back as they made the most of a penalty award.

The ball was worked nicely to the left for Lee Gaskell to pave the way for winger Darnell McIntosh to score in the corner, and former Hull player Danny Brough banged over the goal.

And as the half-time interval approached, the Giants were in the ascendancy as neat handling