GIANTS’ STRIDES
Jake warns they can’t flake it any longer
JAKE CONNOR has demanded Huddersfield get rid of their ‘flaky’ tag and deliver on their promise.
They visit Leeds tonight seeking a fifth straight victory in all competitions.
That sounds pretty impressive, but their recent run includes two hammerings of hapless Hull and a rout of winless London.
The result that made people take notice was Saturday’s 34-6 destruction of Super League leaders Catalans.
Ian Watson’s side ran riot in Perpignan to march into the Challenge Cup semi-finals. It hinted at their ability to challenge the elite after falling flat last year.
Ex-England international Connor, who has finally settled in the Giants full-back role, was excited by it all.
He said: “We’ve been doing it for bits but we hadn’t been doing it for the full 80. We did in France.
“The whole team came together and now it’s about putting more of those performances together.
“We always tend to play well against Catalans. We move the ball and move their big boys around. We know we can attack, though. What we did well was defend.
“Hopefully that win gives belief and shows what we’re capable of.
“We can’t get ahead of ourselves but that’s got to be the benchmark for the way we defend and we need to do it again at Headingley.” Huddersfield and
Leeds have both won four of their seven
Super League games and have been frustratingly inconsistent.
Connor added:
“Leeds are a dangerous team. We’ve seen that this year. It’s their unstructured stuff that can hurt you.
“They have pace and big outside backs who get them on the front foot and they like to throw the ball around. We must have another night of good defence, like last week.”
Leeds have secured eight Super League titles. Huddersfield have never got close and have not been crowned champions since 1962.
Connor won the Cup with Hull but has yet to reach Old Trafford. He said: “We want to do something special. But it’s got to be a habit now – it can’t be one week up, one week down.”