HUDDERSFIELD GIANTS 12 HULL KR 52
JACOB KILBRIDE, Accu Stadium, Saturday

AT what point does a crisis become an emergency? Perhaps at the stage in which you find yourself without 16 players, beaten by 40 points in front of a home support vastly outnumbered by their travelling counterparts.

It’s increasingly difficult to find encouraging signs if you’re a Huddersfield supporter. Already facing an uphill battle to snap a four-match losing run against the reigning world champions, their perpetual injury strife has somehow hit new lows.

George Flanagan, Matty English and Connor Carr were the latest to join the casualty list, with Tanguy Zenon cup-tied to boot.

That forced the Giants into handing debuts to Alex Chippendale, Roman Sharma and Monty Lumb, and there was a second senior appearance for Jacob Algar.

It only took six minutes for the Giants’ makeshift and fragile backline to be ruthlessly exposed. Sharma allowed a high kick from Mikey Lewis to bounce in his in-goal and gave the gleeful returning second-row Tom Whitehead a simple opener.

Huddersfield were found equally lacking in the middle as KR doubled their advantage through talisman Lewis, stepping far too easily past the outstretched arm of ex-England international Tom Burgess on his 40-metre line before a simple dummy beat last-man Jacob Gagai.

There was some brief respite for Huddersfield thanks to a neat breakaway score. Offloads from Taane Milne and Gagai put Tui Lolohea in open space, with the stand-in skipper then escaping the clutches of Joe Burgess and Jack Broadbent and finding the supporting Milne to finish. Oliver Russell added the conversion.

Even at 6-12, it felt a meagre break from the inevitable rather than the spark of a comeback trail as so proved by the three Robins tries inside the space of nine minutes.

Jez Litten, Jai Whitbread and Tyrone May were offloading at will the play before a quick shift right saw Peta Hiku step inside Russell to put KR back on track.

Profiting again down the same edge, Hiku this time saw off Sharma’s attempted tackle on halfway and handed off for May to put Tom Amone on the scoresheet.

Having already landed four goals (later to finish with 16 points from the tee), Martin wrestled past Algar on his 20 and punted a kick ahead from which Lewis won the chase.

Up 30-6 at the break, it took the Robins just eight second-half minutes to find their groove again. 

A dummy-half effort from Bill Leyland was the first of three more tries prior to the hour mark before a stunning seven-pass sequence saw KR break down the right edge with Sam Luckley providing the finishing touch.

May’s classy cut-out pass then sent his winger Burgess scampering down the left touchline, allowing Gildart to dot down.

The KR tries were becoming easier and easier to come by; Luckley offloaded out of a three-man tackle and Broadbent sprinted clear.

Hull KR were in second gear for the remaining 20 minutes and the plucky Giants could at least celebrate a last-second consolation. Milne doubled his personal tally when pinching a wide May pass at the death, with Russell again converting.

GAMESTAR: Tyrone May controlled proceedings with his silky creativity through the middle and array of passing, including a gem of a miss-out ball for the Oliver Gildart score.

GAMEBREAKER: There was no stopping the Robins once Peta Hiku went over midway through the first half after a short-lived period of Huddersfield resistance amid Taane Milne’s breakaway try.

HIGHLIGHT REEL: Sam Luckley finished an excellent Hull KR team try.

MATCHFACTS

GIANTS
3 Jacob Gagai
31 Alex Chippendale (D)
11 Asher O’Donnell
4 Taane Milne
33 Roman Sharma (D)
6 Tui Lolohea
32 Oliver Russell
23 Chris Patolo
18 Kieran Rush
10 Tom Burgess
25 Jacob Algar
22 Jack Billington
8 Tristan Powell
Subs (all used)
14 Fenton Rodgers
16 George King
20 Mathieu Cozza
30 Monty Lumb (D)
18th man (not used)
– Zach Brown
Also in 19-man squad
– Tom Hardy

Tries: Milne (18, 80)
Goals: Russell 2/2

HULL KR
14 Jack Broadbent
2 Tom Davies
3 Peta Hiku
4 Oliver Gildart
5 Joe Burgess
6 Mikey Lewis
7 Tyrone May
8 Sauaso Sue
9 Jez Litten
11 Dean Hadley
17 Rhyse Martin
29 Tom Whitehead
13 Elliot Minchella
Subs (all used)
10 Tom Amone
15 Sam Luckley
16 Jai Whitbread
22 Bill Leyland
18th man (not used)
21 Noah Booth
Also in 21-man squad
12 James Batchelor
18 Jack Brown
24 Jack Charles

Tries: Whitehead (6), Lewis (14, 32), Hiku (23), Amone (27), Leyland (48), Luckley (50), Gildart (55), Broadbent (60)
Goals: Martin 8/9

SCORING SEQUENCE: 0-6, 0-12, 6-12, 6-18, 6-24, 6-30; 6-36, 6-42, 6-46, 6-52, 12-52

Rugby Leaguer & League Express Men of the Match
Giants: Tristan Powell; Hull KR: Tyrone May

Penalty count: 6-2
Half-time: 6-30
Referee: Marcus Griffiths
Attendance: 2,736