Tough task to recreate form of early season
HUDDERSFIELD’S season so far can fairly be described as a ‘season of two halves,’ one with such surprise and joy, and the other with disappointment and the nagging feeling of ‘same old Huddersfield.’
Three defeats in a row since the restart have started to dampen hopes of a play-off place and with no relegation to worry about, Huddersfield’s season is threatening to end in a damp squib almost as quickly as it caught fire.
Defeats to Leeds and Warrington, although heartbreaking to lose by a solitary point, could be stomached, however, their defeat to Hull on Sunday was a different matter.
Hull came into the clash with just one win in their previous six games, and even that was a narrow victory against Wakefield.
And yet, Giants failed to register a solid blow against a Hull side low on confidence.
Their quest won’t have been helped by Aidan Sezer and Lee Gaskell’s absence, in truth, not many teams in Super League would be able to overcome that.
But you can’t help think that this was an ideal time to face Hull, to get two points and to get their season back on track.
Especially when you consider Huddersfield’s next two opponents are champions St Helens, who have looked like Super League favourites since the restart and Leeds Rhinos, and, well, we all know what happened last time.
They barely come any tougher and although the play-offs are a long way off at the minute, it is these types of games that Giants will have to stand up and be counted in should they want to find themselves in the mix come the end of the season.
To do that, they must look back at what made them one of the most consistent sides at the beginning of the season and try to rediscover some of this form.
A mean defence is needed once again, a clinical edge to their attacking play is a must and they need to find a way of closing out games when they find themselves ahead. As these last three games have shown, Giants can ill-afford to offer sides a foothold in the game because once they do, they have struggled to reverse the impact.
This is where Giants were also great pre-lockdown, their youthful energy, marshalled by some experienced heads, was the perfect balance and allowed them to scrape victories against Salford and St Helens. For whatever reason, that element has been lost since the restart and instead of seeing out close games, they are finding themselves being on the wrong end of results, something that was very prominent throughout last season.
The restart has not been kind thus far for Huddersfield but the squad will believe that if they can replicate their performances from February and March, they could still find themselves sneaking into a play-off place.
Where better to test this belief than against St Helens and Leeds Rhinos?