YORKSHIRE RIVALS STRIVING TO END SEASON IN GOOD SHAPE All for to as play Hull and Giants eye strong conclusion
IN ALL reality, both Hull FC and Huddersfield Giants have now missed out on the chance of gatecrashing Super League’s top- four play- offs but there is still plenty to be achieved from both teams in the remaining weeks of this strangest of campaigns.
With that in mind, this evening’s meeting of the two clubs – who both have interim head coaches in charge – will perhaps give an indication on who is best placed to make more of a stab of things in 2021.
Neither Andy Last, at Hull, or his Huddersfield counterpart Luke Robinson, know what their roles will be by then but both are keen to make sure they certainly first get more wins on the board.
An under- strength Hull side showed great spirit when coming in at late notice against Leeds Rhinos last week, forging ahead before eventually succumbing, and it was a similar tale for Huddersfield,
who had been 12- 0 up against Salford Red Devils before falling narrowly at the death.
That was Giants’ first defeat in four outings since Robinson took over from Simon Woolford and Last said: “Luke’s a bit like myself.
“He’s gone in on an interim capacity and has got a spike of a performance from those guys.
“It’ll be interesting to see how they now respond to a defeat. But in a strange sort of way, I’d probably say the game against Salford was the best they’d played.
“They caught Wakefield at a good time in his first game, then played Castleford who were fighting for form and then beat Hull KR on a really, really wet night.
“I thought the performance against Salford was arguably their best but they didn’t get the result and that sometimes happens; sometimes you can play better and lose.
“I’m expecting a response from Luke’s team; he was a great competitor and a very, very good player back in his time and he’ll have them looking to put in a good performance.”
Yet Last is also expecting more from his own charges, who sit seventh, just below this evening’s opponents on win percentages in the current table.
Last’s first victory was a 31- 12 win over Huddersfield in August but they have been wildly inconsistent since.
“We’ve done a short preview today looking at the last time we played Huddersfield and the defence that day was outstanding,” he conceded.
“The line speed was good, Joe Cator was kick pressuring, the team was doing really well and we know we can defend when they apply themselves for the 80 minutes. That’s the challenge for this group of players.
“We can do it for 20 minutes and then for 10 minutes we’re terrible. Some of the tries we have been conceding in 2020 just haven’t been to a level they need to be. Players are aware of it. We hold them accountable.
“Hopefully, tomorrow, we’ll see a much- improved performance from us.”
There will be changes to the side with Fijian Ratu Naulago returning from injury on the wing for Cameron Scott, the youngster who has impressed Last during his three recent appearances.
But the coach revealed secondrow Jordan Lane continues to be absent – and why that has affected England prop Scott Taylor, too, after he missed the Leeds game just one game back into his own return after a long- term injury.
“Laney was of the unfortunate ones who suffered the dreaded Covid,” said Last.
“He’s at home but he’s not suffering any symptoms, he’s isolating for 10 days and then he’ll come back into the fold and follow the return to play from that.
“Tag ( Taylor) was stood down from a track and trace point of view because he was Jordan Lane’s gym partner.
“He can’t catch a break and he’s isolating.
“It’s another example of how the Covid pandemic is affecting us and hasn’t allowed us to get our best players on the field because we’re following protocols
stringently after our outbreak a couple of months ago.”
One player who has suffered more than any other from that is Josh Jones, the Great Britain secondrow who has been missing since their first game after lockdown on August 2.
Jones suffered breathing difficulties and Last explained: “It’s an ongoing issue we’ve got in regards to Covid and the process of getting in the necessary lung scans.
“Thatprocessisalittlebitslower than we would have hoped due to the fact there’s plenty of people looking for the same sort of treatment. He’s not suffering any symptoms but because long- term Covid is a little bit of an unknown illness we are trying to make the best of a difficult situation.”
On- loan Halifax hooker Brandon Moore will make his Super League debut for Huddersfield tomorrow night.