The Salford Red Devils were simply playing for personal
pride and contracts for 2026 as they had been condemned to bottom spot for a
couple of weeks, if not the entire wretched season which has seen them stumble
clumsily from crisis to crisis.
The Huddersfield Giants, on the other hand, were playing for
tenth spot, which they are currently disputing with the Castleford Tigers and a
win this afternoon would lift them two points clear of eleventh spot would send
the competition to avoid second bottom into the final round of a disappointing
season.
The bookies were in no doubt, tipping a comfortable home
win, with the Giants handicapped by sixteen points on the coupon in a round
which has seen the underdogs triumph in a couple of games.
A successful captains challenge from Salford on five after a
dropped ball which was stolen resulted in the opening try on the second tackle as
Justin Sangare took four Giants tacklers over the line with him to ground.
Rowan Milnes added the extras for a 6-0 lead.
Huddersfield were caught offside on twenty-two, Milnes
pointing at the sticks and adding the two to the Salford total.
Five minutes before the interval the Giants kept the ball
alive through half a dozen pairs of hands, the final pass going to the hands of
Ashton Golding who stepped past the Salford tacklers to dive in for the try. George
Flanagan hit the near upright with the conversion attempt but Salford headed
for the sheds with a four-point advantage, the boot of Milnes the difference
between the two sides.
It was a battle of defences at the start of the second half,
neither side looking like they would add to their score. The closest to points
was a Tom Burgess lunge for the try line which was adjudged as grounded short
on sixty-three and then soon after a Zac Woolford grubber to the posts hit the
upright but bounced back into Salford hands.
The scores were levelled with ten minutes remaining when Adam
Swift, back on after passing a HIA test, took a looping pass before pushing
away the first tackler and then spinning out of a second to ground. Flanagan added
the conversion to nudge his side in front for the first time in the game.
It was a double-whammy from the Giants within three minutes,
Jacob Gagai taking a cross-field kick and dropping over the line to score. The grounding
was scrutinised by the video referee who ruled that it was grounded correctly. Flanagan
hit the target with the conversion for an eight-point lead, the victory sealed.
Tempers frayed on seventy-five with Tiaki Chan and George
Flanagan both being sat down for ten minutes for slapping, both sides would
finish the game with twelve men.
Inside the last minutes Kieran Rush added a fourth
Huddersfield try as he bust a tackle and ran twenty-five to score under the
sticks. Leroy Cudjoe added the goal for a final score line of 22-8.
The Giants emerged victorious from their last home game of
the season, and gave Leroy Cudjoe the win in front of his adoring fans as he
made his final appearance in Huddersfield. The Giants now only need a draw to
take tenth place next week when they play the Leigh Leopards, or should they
lose then they need the Castleford Tigers to also lose against St Helens.
Huddersfield Giants: Flanagan (G 2/3, SB on 75)), Halsall,
Gagai (T), Bibby, Swift (T), Rush (T), Russell, Burgess, Woolford, Cudjoe (G
1/1), Billington, Greenwood, Rushton. Subs: Golding (T), King, Rogers, Powell.
18th Man: Milne.
Salford Red Devils: Walker, Tchamambe, Gorman, Darbyshire,
Connell, Marsters, Milnes (G 2/2), Sangare (T), Mellor, Chan (SB on 75),
Russell, Ruan, Wilson. Subs: Glover,
Shaw, Davis, Macdonald. 18th Man: Murphy.
Half-Time: 4-8.
Full-Time: 22-8.
Score Progression: 0-4, 0-6, 0-8, 4-8 : HT: 8-8, 10-8, 14-8,
16-8, (SB), (SB), 20-8, 22-8 :FT.
Lead Exchanges: Salford – Square - Huddersfield.
Referee: Scott Mikalauskas.
