Huddersfield Giants v Hull FC was one of two games on Friday night with both sides looking to reboot their 2025 seasons.
Huddersfield stuck with George Flanagan Jr and Tui Lolohea in the halves after Flanagan’s impressive performance against Leigh Leopards last week.
Aidan McGowan started on the wing for the hosts with Elliot Wallis dropping out.
For the visitors, the news broke during the week that Ligi Sao would be out for the season with a serious knee injury.
Ed Chamberlain and Amir Bourouh returned for the Black and Whites and Logan Moy made his first appearance of the season, starting at fullback.
Hull FC beat Huddersfield Giants in nail-biting encounter
The game started off very even-stevens with both sides having an equal share of the ball in the first 10 minutes as well as defending their lines well.
Hull FC’s discipline hasn’t improved as they conceded the first penalty in the 8th minute.
The Airlie Birds got the first try of the night through a Lewis Martin score, with the winger rolling over sideways into the corner and having fingertip control with the ball over the try line in the 12th minute. One camera angle made the ball look like it was dropped though. Aidan Sezer missed the conversion so it remained 0-4.
Their lead was short-lived as Huddersfield responded quickly. Sam Hewitt found a huge gap in the Hull defence, shoved off two tacklers and passed inside to fullback Jacob Gagai for his first Super League try. Flanagan’s conversion gave the Giants a 6-4 lead.
Giants hooker Zac Woolford limped off in the 24th minute, clutching his ankle. It looked like it got stuck underneath a tackle and he jumped up in pain. He headed straight for the bench and he struggled to put any weight on his right foot.
Following a high tackle on Aidan McGowan, Hull FC’s John Asiata was sent to the sin-bin in the 28th minute. Both Asiata and Amir Bourouh caught McGowan high but Asiata’s attempt was deemed the more dangerous.
The Giants took advantage when Adam Swift found his way over in the corner against this old side. Following a penalty, Huddersfield caught Hull napping out wide and Swift popped over. Flanagan missed the conversion so it stayed 10-4.
Joe Greenwood also left the field for the Giants in the first half with a pretty bad knee injury and Hull’s Ed Chamberlain went off for a HIA, which he failed over the half-time break.
The second half started similarly to the first, with plenty of attack for each side, arguably with Huddersfield looking a little sharper.
The Giants had a try chalked off by the video referee when Aidan Sezer lost the ball backwards in front of his try line and Oliver Wilson thought he’d scored. Video replays showed Wilson knocked it on before touching down, although his shot on Sezer did look high.
A shoulder injury to Matty English in the 62nd minute from an innocuous tackle from Denive Balmforth saw him leave the field via a green card.
Harvey Barron intercepted a looping over-the-head Lolohea ball to run 90m down the pitch to score for the Black and Whites, running towards the vocal Hull FC fans. Sezer converted to make it 10-10.
The last ten minutes meant a nervy time for both sides, who were desperate to get a win. Lolohea tried a drop goal attempt first but that didn’t get over the sticks. Hull got down to the other side of the field and Sezer’s attempt was successful in the 73rd minute. Huddersfield were too slow to react and he had enough time to set himself up. Hull lead 11-10.
Hull were alert in defence for the final ten minutes and managed to hold on to remain unbeaten away from home. The Black and Whites will just be hoping to fix their home form pronto.
Good day for
George Flanagan Jr. He’s by far the finished product but equally, he doesn’t look out of place in this Huddersfield squad. He’s not afraid to tackle just about anyone and he definitely added some much-needed punch to their attack. In the second half, he didn’t seem to get as much of the ball and Huddersfield’s attack did suffer when getting into Hull’s 20m zone.
Bad day for
Hull’s discipline. Once again, Hull’s discipline is letting them down, like in previous years consistently. John Asiata’s yellow card gave Hull a difficult defensive spell at the end of the first half and it meant they leaked in a try. The extra penalties and six agains conceded meant Huddersfield had plenty of attack in Hull’s half. There were a few dubious tackles resulting in penalties so a few players could be sweating whilst waiting for the disciplinary hearings next week.
Star man
Aidan Sezer. Whilst Hull’s attack didn’t always look its best, whenever it did, it was because Sezer was organising them. Most plays went through his hands and they definitely look in better shape in attack with him in the side.
Teams for Huddersfield Giants v Hull FC
Huddersfield Giants XIII: Jacob Gagai, Adam Swift, Sam Hewitt, Jake Bibby, Aidan McGowan, Tui Lolohea, George Flanagan, Oliver Wilson, Zac Woolford, Matty English, Jack Murchie, Joe Greenwood, Leroy Cudjoe.
Interchanges: Ash Golding, Tom Burgess, Fenton Rogers, Jack Billington.
Hull FC XIII: Logan Moy, Lewis Martin, Jordan Rapana, Tom Briscoe, Harvey Barron, Cade Cust, Aidan Sezer, Herman Ese’ese, Amir Bourouh, Yusef Aydin, Ed Chamberlain, Jordan Lane, John Asiata.
Interchanges: Jack Ashworth, Denive Balmforth, Brad Fash, Hugo Salabio.
Attendance: 4559.
