When the final curtain comes down on this Super League season in October, it remains unlikely that Huddersfield will be anywhere near the closing acts: but that does not make this story of the Giants’ mid-season revival any less remarkable.
Simon Woolford arrived in the country only in late May but from what has been seen since his appointment as Huddersfield coach it is not unrealistic to expect his name to be among the end-of-season honours list when it comes to coach of the year, even if the play-offs is beyond this side.
That should not concern Huddersfield right now, though. Six weeks into the season, when the writing began to appear on the wall for Woolford’s predecessor, Rick Stone, the possibility of Huddersfield avoiding the Qualifiers this summer was remote at best. Yet now, following a run of eight wins in nine, their top-eight place is assured with a game to spare.
Whatever Woolford has done with Huddersfield internally, he would be wise to bottle it and sell it. Trailing 12-0 and 18-12 on two separate occasions here, the Giants were worthy winners. Warrington’s win at Hull KR means the gap to the play-offs is eight points - and even if that is beyond Huddersfield, they surely cannot be completely ruled out just yet.
“We may be just too far away from the play-offs but win next week and we can perhaps reassess that,” Woolford claimed afterwards. In terms of the scramble to avoid the Qualifiers, this result leaves the reigning champions, Leeds, with only two sides left to catch. The Rhinos may well have been comfortable 34-0 victors over Widnes across West Yorkshire but, should Catalans and Wakefield win this weekend, the Rhinos’ fate will be secured irrespective of what they do.
This is quickly resembling some form of a veterans weekend in Super League. Fresh from 32-year-old James Roby’s talismanic display for St Helens on Thursday as Danny Brough was the undoubted star here for Huddersfield. He was not only instrumental in the play which twice dragged Huddersfield back from losing positions – Castleford having gone ahead via tries from Jamie Ellis, Jake Trueman and Junior Moors – but was just as pivotal after the break, too. “He’s so important to us,” Woolford said of the half-back’s imperious display. He was also aided by his half-back partner Lee Gaskell, who scored the try which helped level matters at the break after Jermaine McGillvary had earlier scored twice.
Despite the first half being so evenly contested, it was Brough and Huddersfield who dominated proceedings thereafter. Within seven minutes of the restart, a kick by Brough – who else? – found its way to Leroy Cudjoe, before Brough and Gaskell then combined to free wing Darnell McIntosh. Even though Brough missed both conversion attempts, he was again involved in the try which realistically secured victory, McGillvary crossing for his hat-trick after a fine final ball from Jordan Rankin.
It was then left to Brough to add on the penalty that opened up a three-score lead and, perhaps fittingly, that was the final action on the scoreboard.Even if the eight-point gap to the play-offs is too much for Huddersfield to claw back come the Super 8s, you suspect Castleford will not be the last side to be put to the sword like this in 2018.
Castleford Laulu-Togaga’e; Clare, Webster, Shenton, Eden; Ellis, Trueman; Watts, McShane, Sene-Lefao, Holmes, Millington, Milner. Interchange Moors, Cook, Massey, Clark. Tries Ellis, Trueman, Moors Goals Ellis 3
Huddersfield Rankin; McGillvary, Cudjoe, Turner, McIntosh; Gaskell, Brough; Clough, O’Brien, Lawrence, Mellor, Murphy, Ta’ai. Interchange Hinchcliffe, Ferguson, Smith, Roberts. Tries McGillvary 3, Gaskell, Cudjoe, McIntosh Goals Brough 4
Referee C Kendall. Attendance 5,406
