Young Giants beaten by League Leaders

Huddersfield Giants 6-19 Wigan Warriors

Huddersfield Giants: 6 (6)

Tries: Wood

Goals: Sezer (1/1)

Wigan Warriors 19 (6)

Tries: Powell, Hastings, Hardaker

Goals: Hardaker (3/3)

Drop Goals: Hastings (1/1)

Huddersfield Giants finished the regular season with a narrow loss in a pulsating yet defensive game at Emerald Headingley against Wigan Warriors, who lifted the League Leaders Shield after the game. 

Giants' Interim Coach, Luke Robinson, spoke about bringing through from within in the lead up to this final regular season fixture, and backed youth in his squad selecting Ronan Michael, Ireland International and former Longhorns RL player, for his debut Super League appearance. This made the 20-year-old from Balbriggan the first Irish-born player to play in Super League since Brian Carney. 

Wigan, looking to secure the League Leaders Shield, required a win to finish the season in first place and got off to a fast start courtesy of Powell, who stretched over despite heavy Huddersfield pressure under the sticks, with Hardaker adding the extras. 

The rest of the first half would consist of a real arm wrestle, and the sides would be split by six points until a fumbled kick cleared the way for Sam Wood to touch down with two minutes left in the first half, with Sezer converting to bring the Giants level at the break. 

Both sides continued to battle in the defensive affair until Jackson Hastings burst through with 20 minutes left on the clock to give the League Leaders the lead, followed by a quickfire try by Zak Hardaker, with the England centre converting both to make the deficit two converted tries leading into the final 10 minutes. 

Jackson Hastings made sure of the result with a drop-goal three minutes from time, but despite competing well for a large proportion of the match with the young side, the Giants fell short. 

Huddersfield now face a wait, as standby team, to see if they will take part in the new-look Top 6 Super League playoffs, meaning the prospect of more Super League action to come isn't out of the question, even though the regular season games have been fulfilled. 

Huddersfield: Golding, McGillvary, Cudjoe, Wardle, L. Senior; Sezer, Russell; Ta'ai, Moore, Lawrence; McQueen, Joe Wardle; Turner

Bench: Gavet, Trout, Michael, Wood

Wigan: French; Bibby, Hardaker, Gildart, J. Burgess; Hastings, Leuluai; Bullock, Powell, SIngleton; Farrell, Isa; Partington

Bench: Burgess, Clubb, Flower, Smithies