27 Jul 2024

Huddersfield Giants Reserves 22 Leeds Rhinos Reserves 16

By Guy Harvey

Two tries for Leon Ruan as well as a try from Jack Sinfield gave Leeds a strong lead but a second half fight back from Huddersfield in which they kept the Rhinos scoreless helped the home side take the win.

Leeds were first on the scoreboard within three minutes when half back Jack Sinfield spotted the pass out back was coming from Huddersfield taking the interception on halfway and racing home to score under the posts untouched. Huddersfield struggled throughout the first with their discipline giving away numerous penalties for interference at the play the ball as well as a couple of high tackles, but the Rhinos only capitalised on the advantage given once almost midway through the half when second row forward Leon Ruan scored his first of the day.

Sinfield spotted space behind the Giants defensive line and slotted the grubber kick through, Ruan the quickest to respond paced through to ground the ball centre metres from the in-goal line but with a missed conversion Rhinos were only ten points ahead. The rest of the half was a shared game of tough defence from both sides as well as errors. The home side would be the first to respond on the half hour mark however, when Giants full back George Flanagan managed to break the Rhinos defensive line before finding his support in the shape of half back Kieron Rush who ran under the post unchallenged and with Flanagan’s conversion the score read 6-10.

But the Rhinos managed to respond with the half time hooter seconds away from sounding when Ruan doubled his try tally for the day, taking a pass from Sinfield and running through a tired Huddersfield defence like a hot knife through butter, Sinfield adding the extras making the half time score 16-6 to Leeds.

That would the final points of the game for the Rhinos as the home side made a second half come back and in doing so managed to improve their discipline which helped them certainly in winning the game. It only took a few minutes for the Giants to put points on the board capitalising on an error from Leeds when full back McCormack fumbled a kick Huddersfield reacted first when Flanagan gathered the ball but instantly tackled, he fortunately had Max Merta in support to pass the ball to and score easily under the post and Flanagan adding the extra’s pushed the score to 10-16.

The Giants then extended their lead minutes later again fumbling the ball in their try area and Huddersfield reacting quickest this time winger Matthew Hanley in the right place at the right time to ground the ball but with this conversion missed the sides were all square. This lasted until midway through the second half when centre Darius Carter raced through a gap in the Rhinos defence to score under the posts untouched, Flanagan adding the extras again and the score was 22-16. The final twenty minutes became really fast paced and both sides completing their sets and going end to end in a great spectacle but both sides defences were impenetrable and no matter how much Leeds threw at the Giants they couldn’t get the game back.

Huddersfield Giants Reserves