HUDDERSFIELD GIANTS 44 FEATHERSTONE ROVERS 6
LORRAINE MARSDEN, Laund Hill, Sunday

HUDDERSFIELD all but confirmed they will finish top of the Shield table after an eight-try win over Featherstone.

The 44-6 victory put the West Yorkshire side six points clear of Featherstone, who sit one place below them in the league, but with the Giants holding a vastly superior points difference and just three games remaining, it is unlikely Rovers will overtake them.

Fullback Amelia Brown once again shone the brightest for the hosts, bagging herself another four tries, and remains firmly in the race for the league top try-scorer.

After the sides traded tries in the opening 13 minutes, with Mollie Iceton opening the scoring for Huddersfield and Lydia Fawkes, converted by Dani Waters, the scores were locked at 6-6.

But when Huddersfield bagged their second try through Meg Preston, despite having Gracie Hobbs in the sin bin at the time, they really put their foot on the gas and started edging away with the game.

A third try came before the break through Brown, and with Becky Grady adding her third successful conversion of the half, the Giants went in 18-6 up at the break.

When Iceton scored her second within six minutes of the restart and Sam Hulme converted, Featherstone’s hopes of mounting any sort of comeback seemed diminished.

And it only got worse, when a flurry of three tries in just over ten minutes put the hosts into an unassailable 40-6 lead.

Firstly Madison Clegg crossed, before Brown touched down twice to complete her hat-trick with both goaled by Hulme.

To their credit Featherstone never gave up, and pushed right until the end, but couldn’t find a way through the Giants defence.

Then right at the death Brown touched down for her fourth try of the afternoon, with the conversion missed by Grady, to conclude the scoring in a fifth win of the season for Huddersfield.

GIANTS: 1 Amelia Brown, 28 Madison Clegg, 3 Elle Frain, 31 Tara Moxon, 5 Mollie Iceton, 6 Becky Grady, 26 Liv Gale, 10 Lauren Exley, 9 Meg Preston, 8 Gracie Hobbs, 11 Amy Bennett, 12 Maddy Hutchison, 15 Georgia Cussons. Subs (all used): 7 Sam Hulme, 14 Jess Harrap, 17 Kacy Haley, 29 Charlotte McDaid

Tries: Iceton (4, 46), Preston (27), Brown (39, 61, 66, 78), Clegg (55); Goals: Grady 3/4; Hulme 3/4; Sin bin: Hobbs (19) – holding on in the scrum

ROVERS: 19 Beth Macmillan, 2 Ellie Lamb, 3 Chloe Billington, 13 Dani Waters, 4 Lydia Fawkes, 6 Charley Blackburn, 7 Liv Grace, 14 Gabby Harrison, 29 Cerys Gregory, 31 Téssa Benmalek, 11 Tilly Churm, 16 Kacey Davies, 12 Brogan Churm. Subs (all used): 8 Katie Evans, 10 Emillie Holmes, 17 Brogan Kennedy, 24 Sammy Watts

Tries: Fawkes (13); Goals: Waters 1/1

SCORING SEQUENCE: 6-0, 6-6, 12-6, 18-6; 24-6, 28-6, 34-6, 40-6, 44-6

Half-time: 18-6; Referee: Shea Harrison