WARRINGTON WOLVES 16 HUDDERSFIELD GIANTS 24
IAN RIGG, Halliwell Jones Stadium, Saturday
HUDDERSFIELD produced some fantastic rugby to claim a well-deserved second victory of the season and increase the pressure on Warrington coach Sam Burgess.
Hugely unfortunate to be pipped by Wigan in the final second the previous week, the Giants were full value for this win – even if it did threaten to come with another late scare.
Warrington had started on the front foot while Huddersfield suffered an early blow when Sam Hewitt suffered a head injury after diving on a loose ball.
The Giants defence was under a lot of early pressure, but they managed to hold out on a couple of occasions before striking on the counter after 15 minutes.
Tui Lolohea intercepted a George Williams pass to race 70 metres before handing the ball onto Jacob Gagai, who finished off the move scoring on the right where George Flanagan converted.
Jordy Crowther was then penalised for a late charge on Matt Frawley, making his second debut after returning to Huddersfield on loan from Leeds, as he sent a kick up.
From this penalty the Giants ended up in the Wolves 20 and they produced some sparkling passing for Jake Bibby to cross in the corner, while Flanagan made no mistake from the touchline with the conversion.
Warrington forced a goalline drop-out a few minutes later after some good pressure on the line, followed by a scrum after a knock-on, and Marc Sneyd cut inside to score on the left and convert.
But Huddersfield extended their lead to 6-14 on 31 minutes when Flanagan converted a penalty from in front of the posts when the Wolves were caught offside.
It was all Wire in the opening exchanges of the second half and the ball was flowing until Harry Rushton intercepted and made good ground.
From a scrum in the middle, the ball moved swiftly right and Taane Milne cut back inside to score with Flanagan converting again.
The Giants were making really good progress every time they got the ball, while Warrington had to work hard to make their metres.
When the Wolves did get back into a good position to score, after a six-again near the line, Sneyd knocked-on with no one on him.
Huddersfield thought they were home and hosed on 58 minutes when Flanagan broke clear and eventually got the ball to the supporting Lolohea, but it went to the big screen and there was an obstruction in the build-up.
The tackle of the match came a few minutes later when Gagai and Milne took Toby King into touch as he went for the corner.
Lolohea was leading from the front, and he kicked a 40/20 with 14 minutes left. A few plays later, Gagai crashed over for his second, and although Flanagan could not convert it was 6-24.
It seemed game over, though Warrington had other ideas. They hit back from the kick-off when King crossed in the left corner and Sneyd converted.
Then, with five minutes left, Jake Thewlis flew in on the right, but Sneyd crucially could not convert from the touchline, maintaining a two-score gap with too little time remaining.
Sneyd launched a couple of desperate late kicks but Huddersfield this time held on for a sweet success.
GAMESTAR: Zac Woolford controlled everything from the middle.
GAMEBREAKER: Huddersfield’s third try just after the break gave Warrington too much to do.
HIGHLIGHT REEL: Jacob Gagai’s second try, midway through the second half, after Tui Lolohea’s 40/20 kick.
ALBERT GOLDTHORPE POINTS
3 pts Zac Woolford (Huddersfield)
2 pts George Flanagan (Huddersfield)
1 pt Marc Sneyd (Warrington)
MATCHFACTS
WOLVES
2 Josh Thewlis
28 Jake Thewlis
20 Connor Wrench
4 Rodrick Tai
3 Toby King
6 George Williams
35 Marc Sneyd
13 Luke Yates
17 Jordy Crowther
10 Paul Vaughan
38 Sam Stone
12 Lachlan Fitzgibbon
11 Ben Currie
Subs (all used)
14 Sam Powell
15 Joe Philbin
27 Luke Thomas
24 Max Wood
18th man (not used)
37 Zack Gardner
Also in 21-man squad
19 Stefan Ratchford
21 Adam Holroyd
36 Ewan Irwin
Tries: Sneyd (26), King (69), Jake Thewlis (75)
Goals: Sneyd 2/3
GIANTS
29 George Flanagan
1 Jacob Gagai
23 Taane Milne
5 Sam Halsall
3 Jake Bibby
6 Tui Lolohea
35 Matt Frawley (D2)
16 George King
9 Zac Woolford
22 Tristan Powell
17 Joe Greenwood
12 Sam Hewitt
21 Leroy Cudjoe
Subs (all used)
14 Ashton Golding
13 Harry Rushton
15 Matty English
10 Tom Burgess
18th man (not used)
30 Jack Bibby
Also in 21-man squad
8 Oliver Wilson
27 Kieran Rush
28 Connor Carr
Tries: Gagai (15, 67), Jake Bibby (21), Milne (46)
Goals: Flanagan 4/5
SCORING SEQUENCE: 0-6, 0-12, 6-12, 6-14; 6-20, 6-24, 12-24, 16-24
Rugby Leaguer & League Express Men of the Match
Wolves: Marc Sneyd; Giants: Zac Woolford
Penalty count: 3-3
Half-time: 6-14
Referee: James Vella
Attendance: 9,964