Giants run riot at Belle Vue
Huddersfield Giants climbed to third in the Super League table with a 52-0 victory over Wakefield Wildcats at Belle Vue.
Last Updated: 06/03/10 8:20pm
Huddersfield Giants climbed to third in the Super League table with a 52-0 victory over Wakefield Wildcats at Belle Vue.
The Giants, who had the league's best defence last season, produced a second clean sheet in three games and also managed to turn on the style in attack by scoring 10 tries, including two for ex-Wildcat Scott Grix.
Shell-shocked Wakefield had no answer to the skilful play making of Kevin Brown, the incisive running of Paul Whatuira or the dashing dummy-half play of Shaun Lunt.
Huddersfield scored 26 points in each half and the victory would have been even greater but for four missed kicks at goal by Leroy Cudjoe, although the winger turned full-back did as much as anyone to help offset the absence of reigning Man of Steel Brett Hodgson.
Wakefield coach John Kear had spoken in the build up about his longest 40 minutes of the season when, in the corresponding match in 2009, Huddersfield ran in 40 unanswered points in the second half, and the memory came back to haunt him before half-time.
Tormented
The visitors were 18-0 up inside 12 minutes and there was little let-up as half-backs Brown and Luke Robinson tormented the Wildcats.
It was largely one-way traffic from the moment second rower David Fa'alogo took Lunt's pass to force his way over for the game's first try after five minutes.
Whatuira then took a return pass from Robinson to grab the second and, when Robinson got loose forward Martin Aspinwall racing through a gap, the Wildcats were in disarray.
John Kear's men managed to stem the onslaught and forced two goal-line drop-outs but their cause was not helped by injury to stand-off Ben Jeffries and the Huddersfield half-backs were quickly back into their stride.
More good work from the ever-dangerous Whatuira released winger David Hodgson and Cudjoe was in support to finish off for his side's fourth try.
Huddersfield then produced their best move of the match, a sublime effort in which Grix, Fa'alogo, Michael Lawrence and Jamahl Lolesi all combined to get ex-Wakefield man Grix over at the corner.
And there was no let up for the home side after the break with Whatuira once more demonstrating his class.
He broke clean through the first line of defence and Brown was at his shoulder to continue the move and get former St Helens second rower Lee Gilmour over for his first try for the club.
Blanch return
Wakefield's Ireland winger Damien Blanch, who came on for his first Super League appearance for almost 12 months, gave the Belle Vue faithful something to cheer with a couple of runs, but the Huddersfield defence was simply impregnable.
The Giants also maintained their cutting edge, with Whatuira getting winger David Hodgson over and Grix grabbing his second courtesy of Brown's clean break.
Substitute Larne Patrick then charged over and Lunt deservedly got in on the act by nipping over from dummy half for the 10th and final try, with Cudjoe taking his goal tally to six.
