Huddersfield Giants narrowly missed out on a second win of the season over Wigan Warriors, as Jim Lenihan’s side lost 24-10 at the Accu Stadium.
With the score level at 10-10 heading into the quarter, the Giants looked in a great position to claim the points, but after fighting valiantly for 74 minutes, their final six just allowed the game to get out of reach, and two late tries from Zach Eckersley, who scored a hat-trick, saw Wigan run away with it in the end.
The scoreline certainly deserved to be a lot closer at full-time, but Wigan had to find a way to win, and playmaker Harry Smith was crucial to doing that, as he provided assists for Eckersley to get those late tries.
The win puts Wigan in second place, as they move above Wakefield on points difference alone. Huddersfield remain without a win under Jim Lenihan, but there are certainly some positive signs and improvements since he arrived at the club.
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Huddersfield Giants v Wigan Warriors talking points
Wigan hold on as double upset avoided:
After their shock loss to Huddersfield earlier in the season, Wigan very nearly slipped up again, but the general Harry Smith and Aussie star Adam Keighran produced stand-out displays to get their side over the line.
Keighran bagged two assists whilst playing in the halves due to George Marsden needing a HIA. He performed equally as well at centre, whilst Smith’s game management controlled the game in the closing stages, and that is what ultimately won the contest for the Warriors.
Giants will be proud of their efforts, and can find themselves heavily unlucky not to win that game, but alas it is still another ‘L’ in the column for Lenihan, who is now eight games into his Huddersfield coaching career.
Controversial calls go against Huddersfield:
You have to feel that the home side would have won this game had some key decisions gone their way.
With the game level at 10-10, a break by George Flanagan, who entered the field as 18th man, got Huddersfield in a great position. A pass inside to Jacob Gagai continued the move, before Niall Evalds finished off what turned out to be one of the greatest no-tries in Super League history.
Flanagan’s pass inside was deemed forward to Gagai, a call that Sky Sports summariser Jon Wilkin disagreed with. It looked very much like momentum caused the ball to drift forward, but the passing motion was backwards.
Later in the game, with Wigan 12-10 ahead, Smith quite clearly stole the ball from Fenton Rogers near the Wigan line. It was missed by referee Matty Lynn, and that would have allowed Giants the chance to level the game.
Ultimately, Huddersfield’s ill-discipline would go a long way to contributing to their downfall, but calls like that going against them don’t help them, and the missed ball steal in particular cost them dearly.
Unnecessary sin-bins:
With two minutes to go before the break, both sides were forced down to 12 men, with referee Lynn opting to sit players down after multiple coming-togethers.
Wigan youngster Shea O’Connor looked to put on a second effort after Tui Lolohea had got the ball away, and after both players went to ground, it caused another moment where players ran in.
This occasion was the third or fourth incident of a similar nature, and whilst it did cause stoppages, it felt incredibly harsh on both sides to have players sat down.
Penalty, Penalty, Penalty:
The first half alone saw 12 penalties awarded, in what was yet again another lengthy game that lasted just under two hours.
The game is supposed to have sped up with the new ruck rules, but it is anything but, with games more often than not lasting well over what they should do, and that then leads to fan discomfort, a lack of flow in games and a shine being taken off what should be an excellent spectacle.
