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MATCH VIDEO |
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MATCH REPORT |
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MATCH REPORT : The Saints climbed to the top of the league table with a win in Huddersfield. A very impressive professional first half saw them leading by 24 points to nil. However, the Giants came back strongly in the second stanza as the Saints stumbled in a stop start affair. The Saints got off to a fast start, just three minutes into the game Jack Welsby broke the defensive line in the middle of the field and drew in the Giants’ fullback. Harry Robertson in support was there to receive the pass, despite a last-ditch ankle tap our centre was able to get up and ground the ball for the opening points. Jackson Hastings kicked the conversion for an early 0-6 lead. Owen Dagnall taking on former Saints winger Adam Swift took the now Giant into touch with a great bit of defence to stop Huddersfield on an early attack. The hosts kept making errors, a costly one came from a youngster who lost the ball around 20 metres off his own line. Joe Shorrocks wisely picked it up and moved to the left edge, fired out a hit-out pass to Lewis Murphy, and he burst into the corner to grab our second try. Hastings’ kick from the touchline was spot on to make it 0-12 with ten minutes played. Just before the midway point of the opening forty, Owen Dagnall got our third score. After forcing a knock-on close to the Giants’ line, we shaped up on the right, and Jack Welsby threw a big hit-out pass to Dagnall on the wing after sensing a defender looking to close him down. Welsby’s pass created the space for a dive into the corner, which the Video Referee confirmed was fine. Hastings from the other touchline again slotted over the conversion, 0-18. Six minutes later, a questionable moment after a Captain’s Challenge call by Huddersfield. The hosts kicked a high bomb, and Tristan Sailor was tackled in the air, resulting in a knock-on called by the referee. Huddersfield contested that decision and overturned it, leading to a few raised eyebrows by the Saints and Huddersfield’s first major attack of the game. Our men held them out well, though in our red zone. Two goal-line drop-outs were forced by St.Helens in the pursuit of a fourth try, but the Giants held us out well until a third drop-out was forced following a smart Hastings chip, which was followed by a tackle in-goal. With Huddersfield held by their own line, Hastings threw a blind short pass to an onrushing George Delaney, who powered over a defender to ground the ball next to the sticks for an easy conversion, 0-24. The Saints had a comfortable half-time lead. Ten minutes into the second stanza, Oliver Russell kicked just behind his own 40-metre line, and the ball kindly bounced into touch by our 10-metre line for a successful 40/20 kick. Compounding that, the Saints were judged to be offside, and that set Huddersfield up to get on the board. A high kick bounced in-goal, and Asher O’Donnell collected the scraps to score. The referee sent it to the Video Ref as a no-try, but it was overturned and given following the review. Russell added the conversion, 6-24. Huddersfield, now with the wind in their sails, pushed for their second. Joe Shorrocks was judged to have escorted a man off the ball whilst chasing a kick, but we used our Captain’s Challenge to overturn the decision successfully. After the hour mark, we lost the ball by our own line, allowing the hosts to play some chaotic rugby. Late in an attacking set, they pulled the ball left and created space for Adam Swift to go in and come closer to the middle for another Russell conversion – 12-24. The restart set was a poor one by the Giants. Fenton Rogers lost his rag and looked to lead with his head against Delaney in a tackle. He then shouted at the referee and was penalised for dissent. Just to take the sting out of the Huddersfield momentum, St.Helens elected to take the penalty, which Hastings kicked over, 12-26. Taane Milne then hit Jackson Hastings very late and off the ball, so the Giants were clearly getting a little frustrated in their charge to come back into the fixture. A sloppy, messy arm wrestle period between the two teams followed as the time ticked down. Three minutes before the end of the game, the Giants forced a goal-line drop-out. A six again helped reset their attack, and a drop-off run for Niall Evalds saw him cruise in, frustratingly, for the final try of the evening. Russell kicked over the conversion to make it 18-26, which is how the game ended. St.Helens’ first half was enough to get the job done over Huddersfield Giants and get the win, a result which moved the team to the top of the Betfred Super League table. Match Summary Huddersfield Giants Team: Niall Evalds, Lee Kershaw, Jacob Gagai, Lewis Jagger, Adam Swift, Tui Lolohea, Oliver Russell, Tristan Powell, Zac Woolford, Fenton Rogers, Asher O’Donnell, Chris Patolo, Harry Rushton Interchanges: Taane Milne, George King, Matty English, Cole Geyer 18th Man: Joe Greenwood Tries: O’Donnell (50), Swift (61), Evalds (76) Conversions: Russell 3/3 Saints Team: Tristan Sailor, Owen Dagnall, Harry Robertson, Deon Cross, Lewis Murphy, Jack Welsby, Jackson Hastings, David Klemmer, Daryl Clark, Alex Walmsley, Shane Wright, Matt Whitley, Joe Shorrocks Interchanges: Jonny Lomax, Curtis Sironen, George Delaney, Jake Davies 18th Man: Kyle Feldt Tries: Robertson (3), Murphy (7), Dagnall (19), Delaney (38) Conversions: Hastings 4/4 Penalties: Hastings 1/1 |
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