Huddersfield Giants boss fires off Super League warning and gives stadium switch verdict

Luke Robinson firmly believes Huddersfield Giants can be more than a match for Warrington Wolves on Saturday, should they perform like they did at the weekend.

Huddersfield will have left Dewsbury feeling hugely disappointed after taking Wigan Warriors to within a minute of arguably the biggest shock of the season so far. The Giants have won just one Super League game all season, but they were 18-16 up against the Warriors heading into the final couple of minutes of the contest.

That’s when Jack Farrimond touched down for Wigan to snatch a dramatic victory from the jaws of defeat and break Huddersfield’s hearts. It was a performance that warranted more, but ultimately, the Giants finished up empty handed, which has unfortunately become a familiar feeling.

Robinson will take plenty of confidence out of the performance, though, and leading into the clash with Warrington this Saturday, he knows his side can pose big questions of the Challenge Cup finalists.

“Warrington on Saturday, they’re another really good side,” Robinson said, looking ahead to next weekend. “They have extremely good players, as Wigan do, and they’ve shown under Sam, he’s taken them to finals.

“If we put the same performance in and we keep building and we keep up that effort and desire and fix up a few little things defensively and a few things with the ball, I’ve said it all year, I think we’ll challenge teams continually for the rest of the year.”

Luke Robinson on Huddersfield Giants’ stadium issues

Huddersfield played the game with Wigan at Dewsbury Rams’ Crown Flatt ground and Robinson believes that was a key factor behind the performance, with the Giants’ fans creating an atmosphere and getting on top of the team.

As such, the move away from the John Smith’s Stadium, which is scheduled for the end of the season, cannot come soon enough for Robinson, it seems.

“I do think it makes a difference,” Robinson added. “Our chairman been unbelievable for this club and the town and he wants to keep it within the town but even he has realised the stadium is too big for us.

“The likes of Wigan like coming to our stadium, there’s no intimidation factor, it’s a massive, big, lovely stadium with leather seats on the sub bench and music playlists in the dressing room. It’s a nice place to come but we don’t want that as a home environment. We want it to be hostile with fans on top of them and singing.

“I think we got that from our fans today. The fans are always brilliant anyway, they’re only small in numbers but they’re really loud and proud but they get drowned out by our stadium.

“It’s been addressed by the chairman and we’re actively looking all the time to find a stadium, I wouldn’t say exactly the same as this, something a little bit more modern, but something where you can build a bit of fortress and create some intimidation for the opposition. That’s what we got today.”