Five Questions: Huddersfield vs Leeds

By Joe Buck

With the odds stacked against them, Giants suffered their heaviest defeat of the season on Friday night, going down 54-6 to defending champions St Helens.

With just 16 fit players, 17 if you include the stint Kenny Edwards put his body through, then victory was always unlikely against a strong Saints team.

But what five things can we learn from Friday’s defeat and what can fans look forward to in the weeks to come?

Trout Impressing

Friday night saw the Huddersfield debuts of Reiss Butterworth and Owen Trout. Both players impressed but Trout, who scored Giants’ solitary try, particularly caught the eye of supporters.

This can be encapsulated in a set just before half-time where the first three tackles were all made and completed by Trout, setting the standard for his teammates to follow.

The forward continued this early showing by finishing the contest with 42 tackles completed, whilst not missing a single tackle.

With these statistics, complemented by a try, Trout was certainly Huddersfield’s man of the match.

Young Shows His Skills

Another youngster that was handed an opportunity to impress on Friday was Dom Young and the nineteen year old certainly made an impression on the game.

Particularly with the ball in hand, Young was able to strut his stuff and on the odd occasion he was able to open up his legs, it became clear why Newcastle Knights rate the teenager so highly.

It’s a shame that Young’s time at Giants is coming to an end, however, it will be fascinating to see where his career will take him because, as Friday shows, his raw talent could take him to the very top of the game.

Sezer and Gaskell’s Importance

Of all the injuries to hit Giants recently, the ones that have had the greatest impact have been suffered by Aidan Sezer and Lee Gaskell.

The halfback partnership that was so successful pre-lockdown has been ripped up post-restart and Giants have struggled for any momentum going forward ever since.

Sezer, barring any setbacks, should be available against Rhinos on Friday and with Gaskell expected to be back within weeks, Giants will be desperate for the pair to rekindle their partnership as quickly as possible.

Bad Luck still looms

Throughout 2019, Giants bemoaned bad luck for a string of injuries that never allowed them to carry momentum from one game to another.

They enjoyed a small respite from this in the opening weeks of 2020, however, it is starting to look like this bad luck is returning, both on and off the pitch.

The first two St Helens tries came rather fortuitously for the hosts, both involving kicks that deflected off Giants players, the type of bad luck teams only get when they’re on a bad run.

Giants need this bad luck to end, sharp.

Big Test Coming Up

As mentioned, Giants face Leeds on Friday in a test that will likely ignite or end their playoff ambitions.

With big players back available for selection, Friday will be a season defining game for Huddersfield.