HOMETOWN PRODUCT DARNELL SAYS CLARET AND GOLDS CAN SHINE IN SUPER 8S
AND lo, it came to pass that the Giants did smite the Centurions at the John Smith’s field thereby securing an automatic place in Super League 2018.
It is only fitting that there should be a comment from the club’s supporters association about this result for it is no mean achievement.
It should now be clear to all that Rick Stone’s influence is starting to write itself on the way the Huddersfield Giants are now playing the game.
True the team is harder and faster than last year but, more than that, the side once again seems to be playing with verve, purpose, and self-belief.
I was discussing these matters with my everloving wife on the long road home to East Anglia after the match.
These conversations usually begin passing the Emley Moor Mast, continue down the M1, M18 A1 and ending on the A14 at Bury St Edmunds.
Having now sat in the Director’s Box last season – you may remember she won the prize in the lottery – and just about mastered the six tackle rule, my ever-loving feels well qualified to comment.
The Giants are trying to play the game in their opponents half, thereby putting pressure on the opposition forcing them to make errors.
Danny Brough is using the kick to turn the opposing team around and making them run backwards.
It’s dispiriting. If it’s one thing forwards hate it is running backwards towards the ball rather than, well, forwards with the ball.
I was amazed at her insight. Up to now I thought she came along to keep me company and to watch big fellas clatter into one another.
It certainly seems that the Giants are playing to a game plan and look a much better side compared to last year.
The fans have clearly taken to the new style of play getting behind the team at every opportunity. Last week the Britannia Rescue stand was in particularly good voice especially when “Fartown... Fartown” breaks out.
From the opposite stands that sounds really exciting and uplifting.
I know what it does to me so it must really lift our players. And why not?
Huddersfield is the birthplace of the Rugby League, which is so proudly displayed on the claret and gold.
The fans of other teams, rather jealously I have always thought, occasionally criticise us for being backward looking and refusing to move forward. Not a bit of it.
The Fartown fans have a good sense of their place in the history of the game.
You need to know where you have come from in order to know where you are going.
The Huddersfield Giants know where they are going and it is towards the top trophies currently on offer. What we need to develop is that sense of entitlement to be at the top of Super League. The very history of the club should serve our right of entitlement to be in the top four, if not at the very top itself, way into the foreseeable future. I and my ever-loving wife are looking forward to the rest of the season and the inevitable rise of the Giants. WINGER Darnell McIntosh is expecting Huddersfield Giants to make a big impact in the Super 8s series.
The 20-year-old Giants Academy product was a try scorer in the final round of the regular Super League season as head coach Rick Stone’s side went down 14-10 at Hull FC, but McIntosh doesn’t think the KCOM Stadium outcome will have a huge bearing on how the team perform in the second phase of the competition.
“We’ve been in some good form and put in good performances to get the wins,” said the hometown product.
“The Hull defeat won’t dishearten us too much and if anything it will make us want to kick on more.
“We want to show every other team we’re here to compete and we have enough experience to show that the task doesn’t change.
“We have enough experience to know what to do away from home.
“We can’t get too complacent and for me personally I’m going to look to make Rick consider me for next season.
“We are playing for everything each week.”
The Giants found out their fixture fate today, but already knew they would be facing West Yorkshire rivals Castleford Tigers, Leeds Rhinos and Wakefield Trinity at the John Smith’s Stadium and will be on the road to St Helens, Wigan Warriors, Warrington Wolves and Hull FC in the next seven weeks.
While the Giants were beaten on Humberside in a battle of attrition where defences were on top, McIntosh felt the performance showed that the Giants have the physicality and mental toughness to take on the top teams in the Super 8s.
“It was probably one of the most demanding games I’ve played in,” McIntosh explained.
“I made my debut against Hull at the end of last season, but it was certainly more physical than any game I’ve played so far.
“They were hitting hard and it was a good contest. I thought defensively we were really good and our effort was outstanding.
“We made a few mistakes and when we made opportunities for ourselves there were little margins where we weren’t sharp enough.
“The last 20 minutes we knew