Huddersfield head coach Rick Stone revealed his pride at the manner of the Giants’ performance following an emotional week in which Jennifer Davy, the wife of club chairman Ken Davy, passed away.
The Giants ended their nine-match winless streak with a pivotal victory over the Rhinos, which stopped Brian McDermott’s side from moving to the top of Super League.
After the game, Stone said: “I think everyone can feel a little bit proud of the club tonight. We’ve not had a lot to cheer about in the last couple of weeks.
“It probably has been emotional, particularly for those boys who have been at the club for a while. They understand Jennifer’s influence on Ken and how he got initially involved in the Giants, she being a Huddersfield girl and a Rugby League fan.
“That’s how it all started a long time ago, such a classy lady and a classy couple. It was good to see the boys show that sort of emotion and courage and desire. It’s a bit disappointing at times to think that something like that needs to happen but tonight we can be proud of our efforts.”
From a performance perspective, Stone was pleased with the defensive improvements his side made.
“We definitely stood up and competed hard for the whole 80 minutes,” he said.
“The conditions probably suited us. Any time you’ve got Broughy in those conditions it helps. We had more intent in our defence, that was the main thing. We forced Leeds into a few errors and that sucked the juice out of them in the second half.
“It was good to see a happy dressing room for a change. It’s up to the boys to realise if that’s the yardstick, they have to produce that effort every week.”
A full report will be in Monday’s League Express.
