Rating each club’s Super League experience: Huddersfield Giants

Huddersfield Giants have certainly had their ups and downs since entering the Super League.

They were promoted to the Super League in 1998 following the collapse of Paris St Germain. The Giants also had a new Head Coach as Garry Schofield took the reins, replacing Steve Ferres.

However, Schofield only lasted for 13 games. He won just two. He would later successfully sue the club for unfair dismissal.

The next year saw Mal Reilly take over, with Phil Veivers as his assistant. They finished bottom after a poor season and would then merge with Sheffield Eagles, to become Huddersfield-Sheffield Giants.

The merger

The new merger would have a Huddersfield home kit, and a Sheffield away kit. They played two games at Brammal Lane in Sheffield, the rest in Huddersfield.

Sheffield Head Coach John Kear would take charge of the merger.

That only lasted for one season, with the club reverting back to Huddersfield Giants. The club had finished bottom. It meant that in their three years in Super League, they lost 81 out of 99 matches.

Relegation and bounce back under Tony Smith

After flirting with relegation for many years, it eventually came in 2001, ironically after their best season in the competition.

Tony Smith had taken over as Head Coach, but the side had left themselves with too much to do after losing their first 14 games of the season.

They were promoted straight back to the top flight after a record breaking season. They remained full-time and it paid off as they went unbeaten and scored a record-equalling 1,156 points.

After establishing the Giants as a Super League side, Smith later resigned to take the Head Coach’s role at Leeds Rhinos, where he would lead them to two Super League titles. Jon Sharp would take over.

Jon Sharp era

In 2005, they started to flex their financial muscles with the signing of Michael De Vere from Brisbane Broncos. They backed that up a year later with the signing of Robbie Paul from Bradford.

Things started to go well on the pitch as well, as they got to the Challenge Cup Final, but were beaten by St Helens.

Their flair for NRL talent continued with the signings of Jamahl Lolesi, John Skalandis, Shane Elford and Ryan Hudson in 2007.

However, this did not bring results straightaway, the club was five points adrift at the bottom. However, by May, they had gone on a nine-game winning streak and were back in the mix. They qualified for the playoffs for the first time, but were beaten by Hull FC.

Sharp eventually left the club in 2008, as a result of another poor start to the season. He was replaced by Australian Nathan Brown.

Rebuild and League Leaders Shield

Brown’s impact was immediate. They finished third in the Super League and he won Coach of the Year. New signing Brett Hodgson also won the Man of Steel award. However, once again, they fell short in the playoffs.

2012 was perhaps the biggest disappointment. They had gone from first to seventh in the table after a poor run of form. Brown, who had already agreed to join St Helens, was let go early. Captain Kevin Brown was also let go early from his contract.

Paul Anderson took over as Head Coach ahead of the 2013 season. His impact was felt straightaway, as they finished top of the league for the first time in 81 years.

Also, a record number of Giants were selected in the Dream Team. Leroy Cudjoe, Danny Brough, Eorl Crabtree, Shaun Lunt and Brett Ferres were all included.

Anderson had the Giants playing at a good level. But he was let go in 2016 after a poor start to the season. He was replaced by Rick Stone.

New era

Stone brought some promise to Huddersfield, as he led them to eighth place a year later, despite the squad being ravaged with injuries. However, he was gone a year later, paying the price for a slow start.

Now, Simon Woolford is in charge, and has led Huddersfield to a promising start in 2020, with the help of new halfback Aidan Sezar.

The future

In recent years, Huddersfield have brought through some promising young talent. The likes of Darnell McIntosh, Louis Senior, Innes Senior and Jake Wardle are becoming important parts of the team.

So long as that talent is nurtured correctly, then there is no reason why the future for Huddersfield should not be bright.

Rating

6/10- Their rise has been good to see, and their League Leaders Shield win was very good for them, but it always feels as though they promise a lot but don’t deliver. Hopefully, when this season resumes, it will be a different story for them.