LEIGH LEOPARDS 0 HUDDERSFIELD GIANTS 34
LORRAINE MARSDEN, Leigh Miners Rangers, Saturday
AMELIA BROWN returned from an ankle injury with some of her best form as her four tries helped Huddersfield blow Leigh away.
The free-scoring fullback has missed the last three league games, and England’s international against France in Toulouse, but returned to a Giants set up that also featured Tara Moxon in the centres, who is on loan with the West Yorkshire club from York Valkyrie.
Despite Brown scoring four of Huddersfield’s seven tries, it was actually former Leeds Rhinos star Elle Frain who broke the deadlock when she went in down the right edge with only three minutes on the clock.
Brown bagged her first just minutes later when she crashed over from a short-side play, but any fears that that would open the floodgates were allayed by Leigh, who then kept their visitors at bay until the half hour mark, when Brown raced 50 metres down the right edge for her second.
Huddersfield grabbed a fourth try of the half when Jess Harrap spotted a gap in the Leopards defence to burst through and send Liv Gale over for a try. Sam Hulme added the only successful conversion of the half and the Giants went in 18-0 up at the break.
It took just six minutes of the second half for Brown to complete her hat-trick, and her fourth – another long-range effort from inside her own half – followed just minutes later, with Hulme adding a second conversion to put the visitors 28-0 up with half an hour still to play.
Once again, after an early flurry from Huddersfield, who finished the game with 12 players after Maddie Hutchison was sinbinned for late contact, Leigh then found a way to contain their opponents for much of the remaining game, before Georgia Cussons went in under the posts with three minutes remaining.
Becky Grady added the conversion to round of a 34-0 for the Giants, who continue to lead the new Shield competition.
LEOPARDS: 2 Toryn Blackwood, 26 Steph Gray, 3 Nicole Barnett, 27 Rachel Lane, 17 Macy McDermott, 6 Rhianna Burke, 13 Storm Cobain, 8 Eleanor Dainty, 14 Abi Gordon, 16 Lucy Johnson, 11 Emily Baggaley, 12 Charlotte Melvin, 19 Libby Wall. Subs (all used) 10 Mairead Quinn, 21 Olivia Hill, 23 Albany-D Coates, 28 Hollie Bawden
GIANTS: 1 Amelia Brown, 2 Faye Barraclough, 3 Elle Frain, 28 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 Kacey Haley, 29 Charlotte McDaid
Tries: Frain (3), Brown (7, 30, 46, 49), Gale (37), Cussons (77); Goals: Hulme 2/4; Grady 1/3; Sin bin: Hutchinson (71) – late contact
SCORING SEQUENCE: 0-4, 0-8, 0-12, 0-18; 0-22, 0-28, 0-34
Half-time: 0-18; Referee: James Jaundrell