Huddersfield Giants parted ways with Ian Watson yesterday with the announcement coming just over 48 hours before the club’s Super League clash with Leigh Leopards tomorrow. It’s a decision that Sky Sports pundit Jon Wilkin has described as “inevitable” as he’s cited the club’s poor recruitment including names such as Jake Connor as key factors.
Whilst Wilkin would go on to cite recruitment as one of a “myriad of reasons”, the form table and the devastating nature of that loss to Warrington Wolves appears to have been the last straw for Ian Watson. Huddersfield had won just one in eight in Super League and seemed to be coasting towards another lowly finish.
Watson took over in 2021 with the Giants only finishing in ninth, something they would replicate in 2023 and the position that they will drop to should their opponents Leigh beat them on Saturday. Among that plethora of ninth-placed mediocrity was a third-placed finish and a Challenge Cup Final with the 2022 season inspiring real hope.
Despite big recruitment for 2023, namely Jake Connor who was fresh off the back of a 30-assist season at Hull FC, that form couldn’t be replicated with Huddersfield having stumbled along ever since winning just 17 of 43 in Super League over the past two years. In contrast, they picked up 17 wins in just the 2022 campaign.
Reacting to news of the sacking, Wilkin told Sky Sports: “I think the decision to get rid of Ian Watson, there was an air of inevitability about it.”
He’d go on to make the bold claim that Jake Connor was a contributing factor, as well as Watson’s final and fatal press conference.
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Was Jake Connor the final nail in Ian Watson’s coffin?
Credit: Imago Images
Assessing some of the major reasons why Huddersfield Giants decided to part ways with Ian Watson, Wilkin pointed to some of the hammerings that the club had suffered as well as Watson’s infamous post-match presser where he questioned the quality of some of his players.
Wilkin noted: “The nature of the defeats to those top four teams – they got beat by 25+ points by all the teams in that top four.It was the optics of that which I think led to him being shown the door.
“But ultimately it was the post-match press conference where the damage was done. He started firing shots at the club in quite disparaging terms.
“Then Ken Davy starts scratching his head and thinking ‘what are we dealing with?’”
Despite the reasons Wilkin listed that effectively justified Huddersfield’s sacking of Watson, Wilkin exclaimed sorrow and sympathy for the ex-Welsh international, even suggesting that high-profile signings such as Jake Connor did him no favours.
“I will say this, it has been an incredibly tough few weeks for Ian Watson, I saw almost a level of despair in his eyes when we have interviewed him.
“Ian Watson is an incredibly talented coach, but ultimately he couldn’t get it done at Huddersfield.
“There was a myriad of reasons for this. I thought recruitment was bad. I thought Jake Connor, for me, was a bad recruit – with all the money he’s spent on these guys, that was the final nail in the coffin.”
