Huddersfield Giants forced Wigan Warriors to lose their first point of the season when they held them to a 16-16 draw this afternoon at the DW Stadium.
The Giants were never behind on the scoreboard, but their talisman Danny Brough failed with a late field-goal attempt that would have given them victory.
Their star performer was Lee Gaskell, however, who earned three points for his efforts in the Albert Goldthorpe Medal table.
Gaskell, who had replaced Ryan Brierley at scrum-half, scored the first try of the game after three minutes and was a constant creative force alongside Brough in the middle of the field.
Wigan replied after 12 minutes with a try from Morgan Escarp, which he converted himself, but young fullback Darnell McIntosh grabbed the lead for the Giants with their second try, again goaled by Brough.
Tom Davies pulled one back for Wigan, but a Brough penalty made the score 10-14 at half-time.
The second half was a battle of attrition, with Anthony Gelling pulling Wigan level with a try on 48 minutes, but the only other scores were penalties from Brough and Escarp.
But the Giants will take great satisfaction from this game after their 30-0 defeat at Wigan’s neighbours Leigh last week.
Warriors: Morgan Escaré, Tom Davies, Anthony Gelling, Willie Isa, Liam Marshall, George Williams, Thomas Leuluai, Frank-Paul Nuuausala, Sam Powell, Ben Flower, Joel Tomkins, Jack Wells, Sean O’Loughlin; Subs: Tony Clubb, Taulima Tautai, Romain Navarrete, Liam Forsyth.
Giants: Darnell McIntosh, Jermaine McGillvary, Leroy Cudjoe, Alex Mellor, Aaron Murphy, Danny Brough, Lee Gaskell, Sam Rapira, Kruise Leeming, Sebastine Ikahihifo , Oliver Roberts, Ukuma Ta’ai, Paul Clough; Subs: Ryan Hinchcliffe, Shannon Wakeman, Daniel Smith, Tyler Dickinson.
A full report and photos from this game will feature in the new edition of League Express
