Huddersfield Giants’ director of rugby Andy Kelly has released a statement following the club’s winless start to the Super League season.
On Thursday night, the Giants lost their fifth consecutive game to start the Super League season meaning they are the only team yet to get off the mark.
Making matters worse was the fact that they lost that game to Salford Red Devils, who were the only other club heading into Round Five without a win in the competition.
The Red Devils got the better of Huddersfield, despite operating under a £1.2 million restricted cap, as the Giants fell to a 23-10 defeat with their tries only coming as consolation scores.
Huddersfield have generally been competitive in each and every game but Thursday’s display was a timid one and was labelled by Giants’ head coach Luke Robinson as the “worst performance of the season”.
In the aftermath of that, the club’s Director of Rugby Andy Kelly has sent a message to the fans.
Huddersfield Giants’ director sends message to fans
Credit: Allan McKenzie/SWpix.com
In a statement released on the Huddersfield Giants website, Kelly has called on fans to maintain their support whilst admitting that an apology would not be made given his belief that it will be “necessary again”.
He did however allude to the club’s huge injury issues, which have been well-documented and highlighted even further when new signing Niall Evalds suffered a suspected broken foot on debut on Thursday night.
Kelly also underlined the commitment of club owner Ken Davy, pointing to Evalds’ signing as an indicator of the club’s belief and ambition.
Fans were left with a rallying call to “not turn away” and keep the faith despite the difficult conditions.
You can read the full statement below.
Giants release club statement
A message from Andy Kelly 👇
— Huddersfield Giants 🐮🔔 (@Giantsrl) March 22, 2025
Kelly’s statement read: “I wanted to address the current situation and the results at the start of 2025.
“We are wholly disappointed by the start to the season and have through Luke Robinson explained the issues we are having and why.
“Injuries have plagued us and on the evidence of the Niall Evalds injury on Thursday continue to do so.
“The signing of Huddersfield born Niall Evalds shows the continued commitment of Mr Ken Davy and the Davy family to bring in players who we feel improve our playing squad and help Luke to do his job.
“We are driven to improve the fortunes and future of this club, but it will not be a short term thing and yes we will have bumps in the road.
“The performance at Salford was below any of the standards we set and of all our defeats to date in 2025 the most painful.
“I feel an apology would be a superficial fix but one that if given would be sincere.
“If I believed it would not be necessary again I would gladly give it.
“What I know is this period of time is not for the faint hearted and needs courage and fortitude.
“To turn away now would be to deny ourselves the pleasure of the smaller battle wins and the greater victories we strive for.
“The club will continue to improve on the field and find some much needed top 6 consistency.
“The Salary Cap restrictions will mean a slower recovery than any of us would like.
“We will turn this club around, and we have an owner who has never backed away from the fight.
“Despite the emotions fuelled by Thursday and in those moments I witnessed you raise your levels of support. I looked over where you were all stood and it inspired and motivated me to know I was all in with you.
“Don’t turn away now we need you, without any guarantees of immediate glory just the knowledge of playing your part in the fight to raise up the Claret and Gold from the floor where people love to trample us, up to a level that brings us all great satisfaction.
“Andy Kelly, Director of Rugby.”
