HUNSLET 6 HUDDERSFIELD GIANTS 52
KEITH McGHIE, South Leeds Stadium, Friday

HUDDERSFIELD ran in ten tries to dominate a hard-working but short-of-possession Hunslet and comfortably progress to round four.

Hunslet were forced to do without Kevin Larroyer, who is likely to be absent for much of the season after tearing a bicep in the comfortable second-round defeat of Stanningley.

Winter signing from Swinton Dan Abram was held back for the hosts’ next league encounter with Salford, while Elijah Simpson made his Parksiders’ debut off of the bench.

Niall Evalds and Adam Clune were given an extra week to ensure they were fully fit to help take on Catalans in the Giants’ forthcoming Super League opener.

Oliver Russell returned for his first outing back permanently with Huddersfield while new additions Chris Patolo, Asher O’Donnell and Mathieu Cozza all made their competitive debuts for the club.

The South Leeds Stadium’s playing surface started the evening in fine fettle considering the almost 48 hours of continuous rain which had fallen beforehand.

The unavoidable conditions were felt likely to favour the full-time professional side as the game wore on but Luke Robinson’s men were in no mood to leave the affair to attrition.

Six unanswered tries before the break sealed progression and a step nearer the final they last graced at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in 2022.

Rain was still teeming down when the sizeable figure of Australian prop Patolo broke the line some 20 metres out and ran over the fullback to open the scoring in the fifth minute.

George Flanagan failed with the subsequent kick but went on to make amends with the second score and four subsequent goals.

Flanagan deftly changed direction of play to create Giants’ second touchdown, with Tui Lolohea following up a Zac Woolford stab through to add the third as the visitors began scoring at a point a minute.

Hunslet only gained brief respite when Jack Ward went down and needed to be helped off with a leg injury, but upon resumption Sam Halsall maintained the Giants’ scoring rate, sliding over on the right wing.

Jacob Gagai ran onto his own kick of a loose ball for try number five as the Super League side’s speed and strength proved to be irresistible throughout the opening half hour.

George King’s evasiveness, running out of his own half, enabled supporting Adam Swift to become the next try-scorer although, having originally played like rabbits caught in a car’s headlights, Hunslet had, by and large, steadied an alarmingly rocking boat by that stage.

A Flanagan fumble of a clearance kick gave the home side a rare attacking position just after the restart, while Myles Harrop had an enterprising run from deep in his own half before a run of four successive penalties saw Kyle Trout’s Championship outfit attack the Huddersfield line.

Bailey Aldridge took full advantage by catching the defence flat-footed and darting over from dummy-half with Billy Jowitt adding the extras.

Tom Burgess, Asher O’Donnell, Lolohea and Tristan Powell, who brought up the half century, added further second-half tries to seal a fourth-round spot which, as expected, had been assured long beforehand.

Russell stepped up to kick the last two goals.

GAMESTAR: Zac Woolford played the entire game and guided the Giants through difficult conditions throughout.

GAMEBREAKER: Hunslet barely had any ball and the early tries they conceded, at regular intervals, settled the game before they were able to get truly involved.

MATCHFACTS

HUNSLET
1 Billy Jowitt
5 Mo Agoro
18 Jimmy Watson
3 Myles Harrop
2 Coby Nichol
6 Lee Gaskell
22 Jack Ward
8 Harvey Hallas
9 Bailey Aldridge
26 Ethan O’Hanlon
11 Harrison Gilmore
12 Darcy Simpson
13 Eddie Battye
Subs (all used)
14 Cam Berry
10 Keelan Foster
15 Emmerson Whittel
16 Elijah Simpson

Tries: Aldridge (59)
Goals: Jowitt 1/1

GIANTS
21 George Flanagan
2 Adam Swift
3 Jacob Gagai
4 Taane Milne
5 Sam Halsall
6 Tui Lolohea
32 Oliver Russell
23 Chris Patolo (D)
9 Zac Woolford
10 Joe Greenwood
11 Asher O’Donnell (D)
12 Sam Hewitt
22 Tristan Powell
Subs (all used)
10 Tom Burgess
15 Matty English
16 George King
20 Mathieu Cozza (D)

Tries: Patolo (5), Flanagan (9), Lolohea (13, 74), Halsall (22), Gagai (26), Swift (37), Burgess (46), O’Donnell (64), Powell (78)
Goals: Flanagan 4/7, Russell 2/3

SCORING SEQUENCE: 0-4, 0-10, 0-16, 0-20, 0-26, 0-30; 0-36, 6-36, 6-40, 6-46, 6-52

Rugby Leaguer & League Express Man of the Match
Hunslet: Myles Harrop; Giants: Zac Woolford

Penalty count: 6-4
Half-time: 0-30
Referee: Denton Arnold
Attendance: 990